A Human Among Animal Thieves
by jumbochamploonrules
Summary: Ella was just wanting to play Sly Cooper on her PS3 on a stormy night, but after a scary incident involving lightning and teleportation, she suddenly found herself stuck in the Cooper Gang's hideout in Paris. Now teaming up with her favorite video game raccoon, Ella tries to help him with his schemes while trying to find some way back home, as humans don't belong in Sly's world. M
1. A Clap of Thunderous Teleportation

**This is a fanfic of the Sly Cooper games. All characters in this fanfic other than ones that are introduced in Bold Print are owned by Sony and Sanzaru and are not my property.  
****The main OC and POV of the story will be of Ella.  
****Now to begin.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

The thunder clashed outside of my home as I tried to cook myself some grilled cheese sandwiches. I was currently in a very bad storm and I was wondering why it came out of nowhere. The weatherman said that it'd be clear skies for the entire county for five days, but not an hour later, this horrid thunderstorm came in! My power had actually failed twice, but it still was on thanks to a backup generator I had in case of emergencies.

"Ah, finally!" I groaned as I flipped the finished sandwich of cheesy goodness on the paper plate, it being cooked perfectly. Not too crunchy, not too soft, just a perfect blend of the two. "Now to play and eat at the same time," I smiled as I proceeded over to my chair nearby and sat my butt into it. I then wondered what I was going to play, turning on my PS3 and wondering if I'd have any luck with any of my downloaded games. But then I remembered that all my downloaded games required internet to play and I had no internet with this storm above my head.

"Welp, may as well go to the Sly trilogy collection. It's already installed, after all," I smiled as I booted up the game with just a couple button presses. But just as the startup screen began for the game, something happened. Something shocking. Out of nowhere, I heard a clash of thunder happen not five feet away from me! And it just so happened to strike right through my roof and directly onto my television! And the moment it happened, I gasped as the television then began to swirl on the screen. But that wasn't the worst part. Out of nowhere, I swore I could feel some kind of suction. It started to affect my hair, but then I gasped as it increased in power and I tried to hold onto my chair for dear life!

"NO! THIS IS A DREAM! COME ON! PLEASE BE A DREAM!" I exclaimed in fear as I felt my grip loosening on the chair. It was then that I gasped as I felt my fingers fail me just as soon as I heard my sister, **Megan.**

**"Ella**! What's going on?!" I heard Megan exclaim. It was then that I felt my grip fail and I felt my body get sucked into the void of the television.

"MEGAN!" I exclaimed back at her. It was the last thing I would be able to muster before I finally looked behind me to where the vortex was at. It seemed that I was falling down an endless chasm with tons of pictures of the very first Sly game passing me by as I fell. Before I finally felt my face connect with the ground and I felt pain.

"Oogh... ow... what... what just happened?" I groaned as I picked myself up and looked around. And when I did, I gasped. The different pictures on the wall, the computer chair, the nearby television on the planks of wood and a sofa with it. And of course, the maps on the wall depicting different areas with an X mark on them. "Oh... my... god... this... this can't be real... I'm dreaming... I have to wake myself up!" I exclaimed as I pinched my hand, seeing that I was still human, thank god. But nothing happened even with the pain.

"Wake up! COME ON! WAKE UP, ELLA! You need to! Megan needs a ride to college tomorrow!" I exclaimed in anger as I tried punching myself in the face. Again, nothing at all but pain. "This... is this really happening?... I... I can't believe it... Meg..." I whimpered before I finally huddled my knees together and I started to cry. I didn't know what the hell was going on, but I seemed to have gotten sucked from my own universe into the universe of Sly Cooper. And I had no fucking idea how to get back home.

"Okay, so where are we going to go first?" I heard a voice behind me. It was a voice that I knew far too well. Sly's voice. I then heard a door slide open and I simply sat on the ground, wondering what in the hell these guys would think if they happened to see me.

"Huh? Whoa! Who's this?!" asked the lovable hippo of Murray. I sighed and simply sat there, not even daring to make a sound.

"I... I don't know... this is a first... what is this creature?" I heard Bentley ask in confusion. I couldn't help but cry some more. I normally wouldn't be shy if this were some kind of other situation, like if I could go back home at any given time, but I was unable to go back home at all.

I then felt a duo of hands on my shoulders from behind and I sighed, knowing by the gloves that it was Sly. "Hey, what's the matter? Why are you crying?" Sly asked me with a softness to his voice. I sighed at his words and finally looked behind me. He looked much more like his incarnation in Thieves in Time, which I guess made sense, as it was the most well-designed character model for him and his friends. Same with Bentley and Murray, but all three of them looked like their Thieves in Time models, but with the designs of the first game.

"I... I'm crying because... Well... I don't even know if you'd believe my story.." I sighed with a sob.

"Listen, you were able to break into our hideout with no sweat and you look like something we've never seen before. We'd believe anything you said right now," Sly said, me smiling at him but my eyes still watering.

"Okay... my name is Ella... I actually come from a different universe... I was playing a video game when suddenly, my television got struck by lightning... the TV began to make a swirl pattern to it and it sucked me into it... my sister, Meg... she saw everything as I got pulled in... but now I don't think I'll ever see her again... I don't know how I could possibly go back home to my own universe... so that's my story... as for what I am, I'm something called a human... in my universe, humans like me are the superior creatures. All other animals are much less intelligent, they almost never wear clothes, and almost none of them talk unless they happen to be a bird trained to do so..." I sighed, telling them like it is. But I intentionally left out the other parts about me knowing them all already and the entirety of their video games and plots. Mostly because I feel that I'd be asked how the world would play out like I was a crystal ball.

"Wow... that sounds pretty screwy. But what are you good at?" Sly asked.

"Honestly, I only play video games and drive cars. I have no idea how to really do anything else... um... what's that thing over there?" I asked, seeing something nearby that made me confused. It was a replica of Sly's cane, but it was made completely of steel and had a handle that was like a cutlass.

"That's actually my mom's old cane... Before I lost her and my dad in a tragic accident," Sly said as I saw his hand twitching.

"I see... maybe... would it be okay if I could stick with you guys? I really don't know much else to go, and I don't really know what else I could do to contribute to a world filled with talking animals, especially when some of you... don't wear pants," I said, stating the obvious just because.

"Honestly? Of all the things to be concerned with about us, it's the fact we don't wear pants?" Sly asked.

"Every human in my world wears pants and a shirt. So what's your deal?" I asked them with a small smile.

"Well, we don't really show anything unless we happen to be actively trying to make them appear. But I'm not one to talk in a raunchy nature," Bentley said with a frown.

"Okay... I got you. But I need clothes on me when I help you out. So... what do you say? Me help you guys? Or are you going to kick me out?" I asked with a small sigh.

"Well, we could always use another head on the team. You think you can handle using my mom's cane?" Sly asked.

"I think I could manage," I smiled at him.

"Then we have our answer. Murray, Bentley, time to go to the van. Our first target is Sir Raleigh the Frog. Okay, Ella. Time for a team-up," Sly smiled at me. That finally made my tears go away. Somehow, being on the team to go take down numerous thugs? And do it with Sly Cooper, one of my favorite video game characters? It sounded fun! But I needed to learn that this was my reality now, learn how to do the things Sly could, and, of course, find out how the hell I could return back home.

"Alright, let's begin our journey," I said as I grabbed Sly's mom's cane and held it in my grasp. "I think I should give myself a title of some kind. How about, Ella Unknown?" I asked, making Sly smirk as we then went out the door to the van. After all, the hideout was a train car in France.

"Sounds unique enough to get some eyebrows raised," Sly smirked at me as we hopped into the car and Murray then turned on some special buttons on the driver's seat and the van did something I gawked at. It began to hover off of the ground and we proceeded to the northwest (smart move, since the game said they went around the entire planet to get to Raleigh's location instead of going just a bit over the ocean). "Now I need to study up on one of the people who killed my family... Sir Raleigh the Frog," Sly said as he began to read the file of the most idiotic boss in the entire game. A frog that became a criminal because he was bored of being rich.


	2. The Newest Master Thief

**Chapter 2**

The trip only took around three hours, but the great thing about the fact that everyone looked like Thieves in Time was that I finally got to look at what Raleigh was like in the best graphics possible. And he looked quite menacing as according to the case files, as he was actually the same as in game, but he had a very toothy grin, his mouth went the whole way around to his front legs, and his hat actually had the gears turning on it constantly instead of just being designed like that. We then entered a stormy area of the sea and found a giant ship near a small island called the Isle of Wrath. The first level of the game came into view as Murray parked the van on dry land just a few feet inland and in an area that looked safe and secure.

"Alright, time to get drenched," I said with a smile as I kicked open the back door of the van and Sly and I hopped out, me feeling the rain on my skin and also seeping into my clothes already.

"Time to go find Raleigh and take his section of my family book," Sly said with seriousness.

"Yeah, let's go!" I smirked as I tried to sound chipper, but I wasn't really. I may have sounded enthused, but I was masking my true feelings. This rain only reminded me of the rain that caused me to enter this world in the first place. It made my gut twist in disgust as I now had a newfound hatred of rain. We then reached an area with the large gate and, using a spare Binocucom Bentley had that was a spare (pure luck, I know) I heard him call me on it.

"I just spotted something that's going to complicate the mission. That gate is blocking the only entrance leading to Raleigh's hideout!" Bentley said in my binocucom with a groan.

"You say that, but there's a ladder right next to it," I frowned, noting the ladder with a smile.

"Oh... Sorry, I just have a habit of getting worried," Bentley said.

"That's fine. I know I'm having bad feelings right now... this rain is like the one that took me away from home," I sighed. Sly looked at me and put his hand on my shoulder, me smiling at his touch again.

"I know it's hard, Ella. Listen, after we're done with getting back my family's book, we're going to try to find out some way to get you back home, okay?" Sly asked, me sighing and shaking my head no.

"It's not the fact that I want to go back home. It's my sister, Megan... I'm more worried about her than anything else. She saw me get sucked through the television. If she told anyone she saw that happen, they'd think she was insane and lock her up in the mental ward. I don't want that for her... I need to know that she'll be alright. I need to let her know that I'm okay," I said with a sigh. Sly looked at me and hugged me, me smiling at the warmth of his hug while I examined the area. I actually noticed a complete lack of clue bottles minus one. The clue bottle that was by the ladder. And it wasn't big like in the games. It was actually small.

"What's this thing?" I asked as I went up to the bottle, but having to knock out a hammer-using beaver in the process. Once I got the bottle, I opened it up and I gasped. The strip of paper inside of it wasn't a tiny clue. It was a full set of combinations to every vault in Sir Raleigh's hideout! And at the bottom, I gasped as I saw something written there.

"Don't worry, sis... I'm with Carmelita... Meg..." I gawked at the message that was left just for me.

"Wait, Meg as in your sister?" Sly asked, me actually gushing in happy tears as I now knew that my sister was safe. After all, if it's Carmelita that took in my sister, then that meant that she'd be safe with the cops. But that also meant that I needed to find her and get her on my side. And that meant I needed to talk to Carmelita.

"My sister says she's with Carmelita... but then how did she get here before me?" I asked in confusion... my answer was given to me on the other side of the paper.

"If you're wondering how this got here, I was warped to this exact spot, cell phone and everything. Carmelita found me and took me with her to Paris. She thinks Sly's there right now," I smiled. "Well, now I know how she got here... I wonder if I'll be able to get her to come with us?" I smiled.

"Unlikely. Carmelita is a fiery Interpol officer. She's always chasing after me. I love it when she does that... I have a bit of a crush on her," Sly smiled, me smirking at that.

"A thief in love with an officer? Better get in your black and white suit soon, bud," I smiled at Sly, obviously joking.

"Heh, maybe one day, but definitely not anytime soon," Sly smirked at me as we then climbed the ladder and got to the other side. We then saw the search lights and I ran for it when the lights weren't watching, me demolishing the alarm for Sly to meet up with me. "Time to take out that guard. Let us proceed to pummel his face," I smiled as I went to the right and Sly went left, the beaver looking shocked at this and not knowing who to aim at. Ultimately, he got whacked in the back of the head by my cane, me smirking as we then moved forward and we saw the giant blimp above the even giant-er ship.

"According to my scanners, that big blimp is where Raleigh is hiding out," Bentley said to us.

"You know, it looks more like a machine than a hideout," Sly said.

"You're right, Sly. That's a storm machine! It's the reason it never stops raining around here," Bentley said as I looked at all the wrecked ships down by the bow of the giant ship.

"Looks like Raleigh's using the storm machine to make the waters extremely volatile, causing tons of trading ships to sink into the ocean for him to plunder. Your case file did mention that Raleigh was in love with piracy, so that's probably what he's doing here. Not only that, but I can think of one more reason Raleigh uses that machine to cause nonstop rain," I smiled.

"Yeah? What is it?" Sly asked.

"He's a frog. Frogs need water in their skin to survive. Or, in more basic terms, rain make evil froggy happy," I smiled, Sly smiling at that, but his face remaining serious.

"Whatever it takes, I'm going to steal my family's book back... and if Raleigh gets in our way, it's on," Sly said, us proceeding down the path some more and across the rapids until we reached the hook. "Follow my lead," Sly said as he jumped up and connected his cane in the hook, swinging on it and seamlessly jumping over the gate with the momentum. I sighed and tried to focus... but lo and behold, I saw something on the hook. Small red sparkles. I then jumped to the hook and gawked when I connected my cane into it. I then did as Sly did and used the momentum to jump over the gate! I just performed a Master Thief move!

"Nice job! You're fitting in already," Sly smiled at me as I simply gawked at what I'd done. If I could do that without any trouble, maybe I could get through the entire game! I giggled at the fact that I did that as we went down the road and across the turning wheels, taking out guards and alarms until we finally reached the safe, me holding Sly up as I looked at the piece of paper and put in the code that this safe was. After doing so, I then opened the safe and grabbed the page inside, Sly gawking at it as he read it aloud.

"It's one of the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus! This one is for Drake Cooper's Knockout Dive attack! This could come in handy," Sly smiled as he put the page into an empty book that I knew belonged to him. It was the bare hardcover of the Thievius Raccoonus and it had no pages in it. Drake Cooper's page fit perfectly in it, but I could tell it was one of many pages.

"Now time to move onto Raleigh's hideout," I smiled as we then proceeded to the key and Sly tried the move out on the container, him grabbing the key and me smiling at that... but then I wanted to try something out. I tried to do just as Sly did... and I managed to execute a perfect Knockout Dive move without a sweat!

"This could be useful," Sly smiled at my quick learning as we then used the key and opened the gate to Raleigh's hideout, us going in afterwards. The first of many adventures was just beginning.


	3. Close Shave of High Class

**Chapter 3**

Once we got to the overlooking of the large boat that housed all of Raleigh's stuff, we then started to talk again.

"That blimp is the most secure location on that boat. If Raleigh is really as smart as the case file suggests, that's where we'll find him," Sly said with seriousness.

"Wonderful idea, but your plan is flawed," Bentley said.

"Why?" I asked, playing dumb.

"Because it's impossible to get near him. To get access to Raleigh's blimp, you'll need to go through that high-voltage power tube," Bentley frowned as we looked at the tube in question. "To do that without getting electrocuted, you need to knock out that power generator next to it. And to do that, you'll need two more of Raleigh's treasure keys, which are heavily guarded," Bentley said, Sly then smiling with a snarky comeback.

"Interesting... so when are you going to get to the impossible part?" Sly asked, Bentley frowning at that.

"Fine! But I warned you... anyways, I've marked the areas you need to hit with holographic markers. Follow them to get to areas with a treasure key at the end of each," Bentley said.

"Thanks, Bentley," I smiled.

"Don't mention it, just be careful, both of you?" Bentley frowned.

"Of course," I smiled as I hopped off of the ledge and fell down to the plank of wood at the bottom of the cliff, Sly gasping at that before I smirked at him from the bottom. "Heh, just wanted to mess with ya," I smiled at him, Sly breathing a sigh of relief as he came down via the hook instead.

"Don't scare me like that, please?" Sly frowned at me.

"I just wanted to prove how awesome I was," I smiled.

"Well... that was awesome, I guess, but if there was any water underneath you, I don't think I'd be able to pull you out," Sly said with worry.

"Well, I'm actually a great swimmer, believe it or not. I actually won a silver medal on my high school's swim team back home," I smiled at Sly.

"Nevermind then," Sly smirked as we proceeded across the bits of metal and wood that lined themselves to Raleigh's boat. We then got on the boat itself by climbing a rope and we got to the deck of the ship, me seeing a squid person and me asking it for everyone, but quietly.

"Okay, I can understand bipedal turtles, raccoons, frogs, and hippos... but how in the hell do you guys have bipedal squid people?" I asked aloud. And Sly's response?

"I dunno," he said bluntly.

"You go ahead and find an area to work at. I'm going to head to the one in front of me," I smiled as I stayed out of the squid's line of sight and then pummeled him in the head with a cane smack, the squid getting knocked unconscious afterwards. I then went into the level of High Class Heist and smiled at all the expensive items, me deciding that I'd do a bit of thieving and stealing a couple priceless items, those being a couple of jewels and even a golden, jewel-encrusted crown. I put them all in what I assumed was hammer space in my purse, which was given to me by Bentley. It was a regular purse, sure, but it was able to carry a lot of stuff in it without getting heavy. Which I loved!

"Look at all this stuff! Must be worth millions! And that means tighter security. Be extra careful in finding the treasure key here, Ella," Bentley said to me as I got to the door that led to the lasers. I waited patiently and went through them when they moved out of my way, doing so the whole way to the alarm and smashing it to get rid of them. I then looked ahead of me and saw the laser fences and evil skull of doom, as I called it. I went through the place and then heard Sly give me a call on my b binocucom as I managed to smash the alarm.

"Yeah, Sly? What is it?" I asked him.

"You still have those codes? I found a safe in this one area filled with fire and I need to know the code for it," Sly said, me smiling at that as I got down to my area's safe as well. "According to the paper, the most logical combination should be... 579," I smiled as I input my code, which was 436. After I did so, I opened the safe and looked at the page. And guess what? It wasn't a page for a move OR for Sir Raleigh's blueprints! It was actually 5 different pages for a single Cooper, that being one of my personal favorites, Henriette Cooper.

"Thanks for the code, Ella! I got Old Sally Cooper's Raccoon Roll technique. What'd you get?" Sly asked me.

"I actually got no moves, but instead a 5 page story for your swashbuckling pirate ancestor, Henriette 'One Eye' Cooper... and she actually tells of three different stories in these five pages along with her picture... she looks pretty cute aside from the missing eye," I smiled.

"Sweet! Maybe we can read those stories after we're done with defeating Raleigh?" Sly smiled.

"Sounds great!" I smirked as I put the pages in my purse for safe keeping and then decided to leave my own calling card. And just to make it sting all the more painfully, I decided to just put a tiny penny in the vault as my card. "Heh, take that froggy," I giggled as I then decided to move on... but then I gasped as I turned around and saw something that made me stop in place.

"Well, now, who would you happen to be, madame?" asked the frog that was Sir Raleigh, him directly in front of me and up at the top of the stairs that I needed to go to.

"Um... a hairless monkey?" I said with unease in my voice.

"Hmph, seems you want to play the clueless game, do you, Ella?" Raleigh said, my heart beating a mile a minute. He knew my name?! How?! "Though I failed in capturing the other one of you, I'm not going to let you escape anytime soon," Raleigh said, me glaring at him. He wanted to capture my sister?! That was my breaking point.

"LEAVE MY SISSIE OUT OF THIS!" I exclaimed angrily as I then hopped onto the vault and then directly onto Raleigh's head and hopping off of it like Mario before running down the bridge and knocking out the belly-flopping beavers. I then dove underwater and came out the other side to smash the alarm. Raleigh tried to chase after me, but I gasped as I suddenly did something I didn't expect. Out of nowhere, I did a daring leap from the area with the alarm all the way to the key's case! I smashed the container, grabbed the key, and immediately felt my body warp out of the area! And just in time too!

"Whew... that was way too fucking close," I said as I held my knees to try to keep them from shaking. No dice.

"What happened back there, Ella?" Bentley asked in confusion. I sighed and looked around, wondering if I could hit up another area.

"I have no idea why, Bentley, but Raleigh was in the area I was searching for the treasure key in. And he knew exactly who I was! He even claimed that he tried to capture my sister! I need to get to the next area before he can catch on," I said with seriousness as Sly appeared from the tower and fell to the ground.

"If you need a place to go travel to, I suggest two other areas on this side of the boat. Sly can manage getting the generator destroyed in the meantime," Bentley said.

"Okay, understood," I said as I looked at the two different areas. I decided the safest bet would be the one where I had the disguise of a barrel. "I'm going up here, guys. Wish me luck," I said as I went to the area at the top of the rooftiles by the generator and entered the room that held the booby-trapped tiles.


	4. Submarines, Frogs, and a Happy Reunion

**Chapter 4**

After I finished the area of the booby traps (and getting the coin magnet technique for doing so) I then met up with Sly, who had just emerged from the machinery level and who I gave the code for the vault in that level. He managed to get the Dive Collection technique, which was made by Chris Cooper. I then gave him the pages I received from my levels and I smirked at how he put them in his book in chronological order.

"Now to the next two areas. They're through the power tube that I destroyed," Sly said as he led us through to that area and I followed after, knowing a safe place I could go to get a treasure key. "Okay, Sly, I'm gonna head to this area with the submarine. I want to have some fun under the sea," I smiled widely as I proceeded in that direction of the submarine. I took out the star throwing beaver and entered the submarine, hitting some easily-marked buttons so that the dome would close and seal shut while I moved the sub under the waves, hearing Bentley speak to me on the way to the bottom.

"Okay, this submarine is easy to control. Use the wheel to move left and right, press the green button to descend, the blue button to ascend, and the buttons on the wheel to move forward and back," Bentley said, me smirking as I happened to enter a level similar to the beta version of this level instead of the stupid crab mini game. "In order to find the Treasure Key, you'll need to go to a sunken ship at the bottom of a cave system. Keep an eye out for sharks and explosive mines. The submarine can only take so much abuse before exploding after all," Bentley said with worry again.

I smirked at this challenge and proceeded to pilot the amphibious vehicle through the kelp and seaweed through the cave in question and seeing a couple of sharks in the vicinity. I moved out of their line of sight and continued forward to the underwater mines. I then noticed a button next to the green button that was red. And it had a picture of gunfire on it. I smirked and pushed it, the turrets of the sub activating and blowing up the mines from afar, allowing easy access further into the cave. When I got a good distance inside, I finally found the key inside a similar case to the other keys. I blew up the case and talked to Bentley again.

"Okay, I found the key, but how do I get it in the sub with me?" I asked Bentley.

"There should be a lever of some kind near the wheel. Pull it to emit a tractor beam to get the key in the submarine with you," Bentley said. I didn't even bother asking about the tractor beam feature and simply complied, knowing it had to be Clockwerk. I then got the key with me and, not five seconds after, I was warped back to Raleigh's boat, Sly giving me a call on the Binocucom.

"I got the key from under the waves, Sly. I'm guessing you found another vault?" I smiled at him.

"Yeah, I did. What's the code?" he asked. I looked at the paper and read the code aloud.

"719," I smiled, Sly doing so and getting the page. I could hear it in the binocucom.

"Sweet! Slow motion jumps made by Dev Cooperinda. The page says that he used it to get past tons of airborne threats... and he also has a couple of other stories on the back of the page. And they talk of... some kind of giant bird. Weird," Sly said.

"I see," I said, playing dumb again. I didn't want to give away Clockwerk's identity too soon after all.

I then saw Sly appear from the portal to Gunboat Graveyard and we looked at the way to Raleigh's hideout.

"So, we gotta do basically become cannonballs in order to get to Raleigh's hideout, huh?" I smiled.

"What? Are you scared?" Sly asked.

"Aren't you?" I asked him honestly.

"Not really. If anything, Raleigh should be scared of us," Sly smiled.

"Agreed. Okay, you go in first, I'll go in only if you happen to survive," I smiled at him, Sly smirking at that. We then unlocked the cannon for entry and Sly got in first, Bentley using his hacking skills to aim the cannon at the blimp, Sly making it perfectly and through the glass window. I then smirked and jumped in next, the thrill ride getting to me as I was shot like a bullet and the wind beat against my face. It felt awesome! "YAHOO!" I exclaimed in giddiness as I entered the storm machine next and joined up with Sly.

"How delightful... we have a couple guests... the only thing is... I HATE UNEXPECTED GUESTS!" Raleigh exclaimed the last bit, Sly talking first.

"Listen Raleigh, wipe out my family and steal what's mine, you better expect company," he said to the frog before I spoke.

"And seriously, mister frog? Becoming a criminal just because you were bored of being rich? That's just pathetic on so many levels. You couldn't take up a sport of some kind? A hobby in designing machinery? Anything that doesn't involve killing tons of innocent people on all those ships?" I asked him in seriousness. Raleigh growled at my words and started to yell angrily at me, which I kind of expected.

"YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME, VILE CREATURE!" Raleigh exclaimed before breathing in and calming down. "If you must know, my parents were absolutely horrid, treating me as if I were an object... I hated that life of luxury if it meant I was treated as little value as golf ball. So, without further adieu, I believe it is time to see you out... by what?..." Raleigh asked as he then thought for a few seconds before yelling again. "BLOATING TO GARGANTUAN SIZE! AND SQUASHING YOU LIKE THE INSIGNIFICANT BUGS THAT YOU ARE!" Raleigh yelled that part. But honestly, I didn't expect a better backstory to his pathetic one from the games.

"Bring it on, yuck mouth," I smirked, Raleigh then sticking his tongue out and grabbing a bee from above him. And when he did, his body swelled up immensely, him then hopping slowly over to us. I smirked and dodged so easily that I yawned. And when Raleigh shrunk back to normal, I simply grabbed his body with one hand and smirked at how Raleigh could barely fight back.

"Well, you put up almost no fight at all. That is so sad," I smirked as I then began to smack him in the face and legs with my cane, making sure he was swiftly pummeled before I threw him into the water nearby.

"Gloat all you want... creature... you're no match for Muggshot.. you will see... his casino in Mesa City Utah... is so well-guarded... not even a snake could get through... without setting off alarms... uggeehee..." Raleigh groaned in defeat. I then went to the chair of the Storm Machine and found the pages to Rioichi Cooper, there being three for him in total. I also found a couple of gears in the chair that I swiftly knocked out with my cane. And when I did, I grabbed Sly and got us off the Storm Machine just in time. If I hadn't, we'd have been caught in a massive wreck! Sly then hid himself under the bridge to the boat as he saw none other than Carmelita appear. I didn't hide myself, however. Mostly because of someone I saw with her.

"Meg!" I exclaimed when I saw her, rushing to her in excitement, not even caring that Carmelita was aiming her shock pistol at me.

"Who are you and why are you on this ship?" Carmelita asked me in anger. I didn't even care. I ran right past her and hugged my sister happily, tears falling down my face in pure happiness.

"Ella... I'm so glad you're okay," Meg smiled at me with her voice breaking too.

"I'm the one who should be saying that, sis! I never thought I'd see you again!" I cried, looking her in the face again with tears in my eyes. In case you were wondering what Meg and I looked like, Meg had blonde hair that was long and curly that fell to her elbows with curly bangs in that partially covered her eyes. She also had freckles on her face with a mole right on her chin. Her face was adorable and she was around 19 years old with an average body type for Americans. And by that, I mean that she was a tiny bit chunky, weighing at least 200 pounds with a height of 5 foot 10.

As for me, I was a bit shorter than my younger sister and I was roughly 21 years old. I had blonde hair like her, but I liked it in ponytail fashion. I also had a small scar on my nose from when I got cut by a piece of glass when I was younger. My body was more fit than my sister's, but only slightly, being around 180 for 5 foot 7 inches with more muscle in my arms and legs.

"Excuse me, but are you going to answer my question?" Carmelita asked me, which I smiled and finally looked at her.

"I came here because I'm helping someone out in retrieving some things that were taken from him at a very young age. The frog here is the one who killed his family and took some of his prized heirloom along with his four other friends. Not only that, but Raleigh the Frog also killed tons of people by using that machine over there to make an infinite storm that sunk numerous ships for him to plunder, all of them having people on them. So if you ask me, you should find him and book him. He's curently in that wreckage somewhere," I smiled at Carmelita, her frowning and nodding her head, not even knowing that I was doing it for Sly!

"I suggest that you take your sister with you, then. She's been trying to find you since my fellow officers discovered her on this island," Carmelita said, me smiling at that.

"Come on, sis. Let's go find my friend," I smiled, traveling from the ship back through to the van, meeting up with Sly by the area of the gate for Raleigh.

"Hey, Ella! Is that your sister, Meg?" Sly asked, Meg smirking and blushing at that.

"Yes she is. What gave it away?" I smiled jokingly.

"Isn't it obvious enough?" Sly smiled.

"Quite right. I was just teasing," I giggled as we then noticed the rain finally stop. "Finally! My clothes are going to need to dry for days after this adventure," I smiled at that as we then got to the van and hopped in it, Murray leaving the island soon after.

"I say this was a very successful run! We defeat Raleigh and got all of his sections of the Thievius Raccoonus. What do you say we go on a vacation to England? We could use some sunshine after this," Sly smiled.

"Agreed. On the way, why don't we read up on the pages I got from Raleigh's chair? It says Rioichi Cooper, master of the Ninja Spire Jump. He could land on narrow points such as trees, lanterns, and even pointy rooftops. He used these skills to get around the towers and temples of Feudal Japan," I smiled at the pages, seeing Clockwerk on one of them... and then I also saw Clockwerk in Henriette's pages... and even Dev's... and every other page that had a picture on it.

"Um... Sly? Why are there pictures of an owl in nearly every single page we've got so far?" I asked, noting that at least every single ancestor had mentioned Clockwerk once.

"I don't know... so you think that this owl is the same in each one?" Sly asked.

"Well, let's read Henriette's for now," I smiled as I decided to read her entry first just because I wanted to hear her tales first. She was my favorite after all.


	5. Newsflash! Dumb Dogs are Still Dumb!

**Chapter 5**

"Okay, this is the last page of Henriette. And it has the giant bird on it, so let's read it," I smiled as I began to read it, knowing that the words were just as the wiki described it as. "And see I did off the port bow, the frightening gaze of an eagle. My strong and seaworthy crew, transfixed in its terrible gaze, lay motionless and silent. All but myself fell victim to its heart-stopping stare - perhaps my eye patch protected me during the ordeal - and I alone manned the ship away from the flying beast. I fear it may strike again..." the page read. And that was the end of Henriette's portion of the book.

"Wow... so this ancestor saw a giant bird that had some kind of hypnotic gaze of sorts... I wonder who it could be and why this same bird appears in each of the other pages?" Sly asked in confusion.

"I actually think I've seen this shadowy figure before... the one in Rioichi's photo. It looks similar to a photo of a very mysterious criminal that Carmelita had in her criminal database. She showed it to me before taking me to the Isle of Wrath to see if you had gone there, sis... and this shadow matches perfectly to the criminal photo of a criminal that can only best be described as a monster... his name is Clockwerk, and he's a giant robotic owl. I have no doubt in my mind that he's extremely old and that he is the one Henriette and these other ancestors mentioned. Even Dev Cooperinda mentions that he developed this jump of his to outmaneuver 'a giant bird of steel and malice'," Meg said, me frowning at her. I didn't want Clockwerk mentioned too early, but I guess she didn't get that memo.

"Whoa... I... I think I remember something..." Sly said, me wondering if it was about his incident when he was a kid. "I remember... a giant figure... one that looked like a bird with enormous wings... he slashed his talons right through my mother in one swoop... while my father was killed by another member. One that had a very huge gun," Sly said.

"Then that means that this Clockwerk must be from the Fiendish Five. Maybe he hired the other members just to assault your family?" Bentley asked.

"That seems the most logical situation... but we don't have time to worry about Clockwerk right now. We don't even know where he is. For now, we should stick to the clue that Raleigh gave us. Mesa City, Utah... honestly, he's an idiot to have given us Muggshot's exact location. He may as well have given us his driver's license and social security number," I smiled.

"Hah, yeah, that was pretty dumb," Sly smirked as Murray finally got us to England.

"Time for a couple days worth of vacationing in the sun... we deserve it," I smiled.

* * *

The vacation was very nice, mostly because the food tasted so good and the fact that the stuff I stole from Raleigh was worth quite a lot. I managed to use that money to get myself my very own calling card, which I decided would be a bunch of pennies. I'd always carry one hundred on me at once I decided. But I also used it to get myself some better clothes more suited to thieving. I got a crop top, a bra, some long pants that gave my legs good movement, and a belt to keep them on my body. We then got to moving off to the USA, my home sweet home.

"So we're going to my home, the good old US of A, huh?" I smirked.

"Looks like it. I bet you're excited, huh, Ella?" Sly smirked at me.

"No duh," I smiled as I looked at Meg with a smile. She decided she'd stay in the van with Bentley and Murray and she told me in secrecy that she'd get us the codes for the different vaults. Mostly because she'd memorized all of them and the fact that she was smart enough to hack computers. She even proved this when she hacked into Muggshot's database and found the codes for all of his safes. And they were exactly the same as the ones in the game!

"Muggshot is the ruthless muscle of the Fiendish Five. But he wasn't always that way. He grew up as the runt of the litter," Sly said as he read the case file for Muggshot. "He saw a movie called the Dog Father when he was only 10 years old and he saw his first gangster. And he knew instantly he wanted to be one. He spent the rest of his childhood training to become the big bad he wanted to be... and with enough dedication, he realized the dream he wanted. He became the most ruthless gangster in all of Utah, making sure he'd never be picked on or pushed around again," Sly said with seriousness.

"It's a shame that he got bullied as a kid and that's what caused him to become a gangster... but if what your memories say are true, then he killed your dad. So we need to take him out big time. I suggest demolishing his face," I smiled.

"Agreed on that much," Sly said as we finally reached our destination. A canyon that would lead to Mesa City proper. We then hopped out of the van and proceeded our trek, climbing up the pipe and standing at the top of the gate and me looking through my binocucom with Sly.

"Hey, Sly, I thought you said Mesa City was going to be loud and busy. This looks more like a ghost town," Bentley said when we saw all the buildings and trailers were empty and now almost all junk.

"My guess is that the citizens got run out of town by Muggshot when he set up shop. If we can take him out and spread the word, I'm sure the residents will come back," I said with seriousness.

"That's some logical thinking, Ella. Don't forget to utilize the Ninja Spire Jump and the other techniques on the journey," Bentley said as we then looked at our first hurdle. A couple of miniature lanterns. And they had the red sparkles I loved.

"Let's proceed. This time, you follow my lead, okay, bud?" I smiled at Sly as I executed the move perfectly and perched myself on each point until reaching the other side, Sly doing so as well. We then moved forward and saw the first of Muggshot's cronies. A dog tied to a doghouse. "Watch this... HEY! Dumb mutt!" I yelled at the pooch, him barking at that and trying to attack me from his standpoint, but him standing in place and barking angrily after he reached the end of his rope. "Now... who wants a doggy treat?" I smiled in a sing-song voice as I held a small biscuit, the dog gasping and panting when he saw it, Sly smirking and trying to hold in his laughter. "You want it? Who's a good doggy?" I smiled, the dog then sitting up and barking happily. "Go get it!" I smirked as I threw it to him, the dog barking and going back into his little house, giving me and Sly the opportunity to climb the pipe next to him while he was preoccupied.

"Dammit..." the dog groaned after we got past him, that being the breaking point as Sly started to laugh out loud for the first time ever.

"Haha! I knew I'd get you to crack one of these days, Sly! Ah, dogs are so stupid!" I laughed at that as we then moved forward more and we got jumped by a dog with a big 2 by 4, which I knocked him out with my cane before he could even swing once.

"I wonder if all of Muggshot's mutt mafia are going to be dumb shits?" I smiled.

"I don't know," Sly smirked as we then made it to the area with the floor lasers.

"What are those?" I asked, playing dumb.

"The latest in high-tech security. Electronic floor lasers. Step on them and you're a goner," Bentley said.

"Nice touch," Sly said as his ears folded down.

"They're safe to walk on when they're flashing, but it also means they're about to change to a different placement," Meg said afterwards.

"Good to know. Let's move out," I said, Sly going first this time and doing as Bentley said, making sure to keep his eye on the laser floor and switching his placement as the lasers began to flash on the other side. He then hit the alarm and we proceeded forward once again.

We then took out the next groups of dog henchmen without a sweat, especially the card throwing dog, mainly because... well, they were cards. "Seriously? He's just pelting us with paper and he thinks that's going to hurt us? What an idiot," I smiled at that as we finally came upon the area with the safe, me pointing Sly over to it and me climbing over there on the pipe, me being amazed at how I did so without tiring out. I wasn't one for parkour, but since I joined up with Sly and started seeing the red sparkles, I could do it without issue and without tiring out! Once I reached the safe, I asked Meg for the codes and I put it in after she gave it to me.

I then opened the safe and, after I did, grabbed the page within. "Looks like I got a page for Rob McCooper's Explosive Hat move. Just get any kind of hat and throw it out for a massive explosion. Can work with any hat and, after it explodes, a new hat will appear on your head. Cool," I smirked at it. I then left my calling card and snickered at it. One penny.

I then moved back to Sly and he smiled at me. "You know, don't you think leaving behind a penny as a calling card would be... I don't know... a bit too insulting?" Sly smirked at me.

"I know, and that's the entire point," I smiled at him. We then moved through the tunnel of trailers filled with tons of lasers until we popped out the other side and took out one more card using idiot before getting to the first Treasure Key that Muggshot used. But I smirked at how this one was a different color than Raleigh's. While his were blue, Muggshot's were golden and they also had a different handle. His were in the shape of dollar signs for the handles, me smirking at that.

"Let us proceed through the drain pipe," I said as I unlocked the pipe and we went through, dropping down a couple of feet into another pipe. This one allowed us to see the giant complex of Mesa City and Muggshot's giant casino. He had giant signs of himself, his name was plastered in neon at the rooftops, and he had a gigantic balloon in his likeness on the side rooftops.

"This Muggshot certainly isn't shy. Okay, well we know he's here somewhere, but how do we find him? Mesa City is a big place," Bentley said in confusion.

"Well, not to sound racist... or whatever kind of ist you use in this world, but given he's a bulldog, it only makes sense that he'd live in a giant fire hydrant? Like the one at the top of the towers?" I asked, wondering what the proper term would be for judging others in this world.

"Sound logic, Ella. And so you know, we say specist... you know, since we're all animals?" Bentley asked, me smiling at that word.

"But what about the animals that don't talk? Because I've seen several like that," I asked with a smile.

"For the animals that don't talk, we call them 'non-sentient' animals. They actually are a different class to us animals as we can talk and think at higher intelligence, but they are also used for food depending on what they are," Sly said.

"I see... now we just need to find a way through that barricaded door... that locked up car comes to mind for a quick entry," I smirked at the car that was currently on and having its wheels moving even while on the jack.

"That car seems to be self-powered by some kind of metal... it's almost the same as the materials that were used in the tractor beam that was in Raleigh's submarine... how confusing..." Bentley said with confusion.

"Well, time to go find some more Treasure Keys. I'm going to go to this one area over here," I smiled at Sly, going to the area that Murray would race the dogs in the van.

"And as for you, Sly, Murray's going to meet up with you in an area to your right. He's going to need some covering fire," Meg said to Sly. That meant I needed to do something in the race... but what?


	6. Races and Chases

**Chapter 6**

When I got to the area with the van race, I saw I actually was in an area that looked like a real race track and that there were other dogs there. And there happened to be five cars, one of them looking like a regular go kart kind of car.

"Hey! Who's this broad?" asked one of the dogs, him looking very shifty as he and the other dogs looked to be gambling different items. And one of the items gambled happened to be a Treasure Key.

"Hey, question, but what will it take for me to join on this gamble?" I smiled at them.

"Heh. Whaddaya got to gamble, missy? Winner of the race gets all the dough," one of the other dogs said, this one actually being female and her having a tough girl look to her.

"How about this little thing right here?" I smiled as I put in an item I saved from the trip to Raleigh's hideout. It was a fist-sized diamond that I found in the area with the booby traps.

"Heh! You're bettin' big, girl! Okay, three times around the track for a key. Get in that spare car there and we'll get underway," the bigger dog said as he got into his car, which was the one with the logs on the back.

"Alright!" I smiled as I was ready to race. And I saw a lot of nitro that I could use in this go kart.

"Three! Two! One! GOOO!" the dog holding the flag said, me rushing off with the other mutts and seeing the track was the same as the one in game, me taking advantage of the straight ways and the slopes and using the nitro when I got to those areas, making it from fifth to third on the first lap and then through to first on lap number two! "Haha! Catch me if you can, suckers!" I laughed as I actually overlapped the female dog, as she was in the siren truck in last place. I then finished in first place and smiled at the other dogs as I then waited for the rest of them, the dogs growling at my skill and me smiling.

"Well, I do believe that I get the potluck this time," I smiled, going over to the pile of bills, my diamond, and the key and taking all of it and putting it in my purse. "Thanks for the race, guys! It was a blast!" I smiled as I then skipped off to the main area again, but not before rubbing it in their faces one more time. I simply left one single penny as a sign that I was now the champ of their track.

"Okay, Sly, I got a key and a lot of money from a big bet in a race, what's your status?" I asked him with a smile.

"I'm currently in a casino area and I'm in a place filled with roulette wheels... and... I see a vault a few areas in front of me!" Sly smiled, me smirking at that as I decided to wait for a bit for him. After waiting for a couple minutes, he finally arrived with another page and the keys he got.

"Okay, what page did you get?" I smiled at him.

"A page that will allow me to finally be able to swim as well as have me jump while submerged in water, perfected by Suzanne Cooper," Sly said, me smirking at how, when we put the pages in his book, Suzanne Cooper was right after Henriette.

"Okay, want to do the dirty, Sly?" I smiled at him as we then unlocked the car's jack.

"With pleasure," Sly smiled wickedly as he hit the switch and the car slammed full speed ahead into the barricade, the car getting totaled in the process while we were allowed total access to the inside of the casino. We then proceeded into the area and soon found the giant head, Sly groaning at it. "Would you look at that ugly mug?" Sly asked.

"I am, and I find it infinitely fascinating," Bentley said, me tilting my head at that.

"Huh?" Sly and I asked at the same time, though for me it was more of me playing dumb.

"My scanners are actually revealing a secret elevator to Muggshot's penthouse that's located within that giant head," Bentley said.

"But how to open this head up is the question," I smiled. Bentley then put in some arrows on our Binocucoms to look down the stairs and at the locked up switch.

"Behind this wall is a switch to open the head up, but you'll need all seven of Muggshot's treasure keys to open it up," Bentley said.

"Got it, going to get more keys ASAP," I smiled as I proceeded to the east. I wanted to have some fun with the lady in orange fur. "I'll go this way, Sly," I smiled at him.

"Good luck," Sly smirked back at me. I giggled and proceeded to go to the area to the east and had to go up a ladder to the rooftops that would lead me to Carmelita.

"Yuck, these rooftops look filthy... But they are the only way to the key, since my scanners say it's in a jewel case somewhere near Muggshot's penthouse," Bentley said, me smiling at that. I then proceeded across the rooftops and I happened to come across Carmelita, standing in place on one of the rooftops.

"Well, well, well, look who just walked into my cross hairs. A certain thief that the frog was more than happy to tell me all about," Carmelita said, me smirking at that.

"Had a feeling Raleigh would blab that out. Yeah, so I'm helping Sly recover his family heirloom and taking out bad guys in the meantime, so what?" I smiled at her.

"Criminals need to be put behind bars. None of you can escape justice forever," Carmelita said with a frown.

"Well, then it looks like I gotta run, now doesn't it?" I smirked as I then proceeded to do so, Carmelita growling and beginning the chase, shooting at me with her shock pistol and me able to dodge effortlessly. "Hah! Where'd ya learn to aim? The carnival?! HAH!" I laughed, Carmelita shooting more rounds at me as I rushed across the rooftops effortlessly, managing to make it to the area with the vault and Carmelita not having any options... or so I thought. Just as I was going down the hallway, I gasped as I saw a jolt of electricity just a tiny bit next to my feet! And Carmelita was right behind me!

"Get back here, whoever you are!" Carmelita yelled at me, which I responded by seeing a duo of dog guards in front of me and me hiding myself behind one of them with barely a sound, Carmelita confused about how to proceed after this. She looked at both dogs, not getting the clue, and so retreating ahead of me to the next area, her not even looking back until I got to the safe. I then immediately put in the code, got the page (and saw it was actually for Thaddeus Winslow Cooper III) and then had to get evasive again.

"You bitch! Get back here!" Carmelita yelled at me as she proceeded to shoot at the footing I stood on, making it start to cave in from under me! I had to rush the whole way across the crumbling walkways until I finally made it to the end, where Carmelita perched herself on Muggshot's balloon and I simply baited her into attacking the jewel case, causing it to open up with the key coming to me, me smirking and throwing a penny at her in retaliation. "I'm going to hunt you down, creature! You can't run forever!" Carmelita exclaimed, me finally yelling it to her.

"IT'S ELLA UNKNOWN!" I yelled at her with a smirk as I then grabbed the key and got warped away in an instant. I knew Carmelita would survive this, so I got back to the main area and saw Sly get back from the level in the alleys.

"So what page did you get, Ella?" Sly smiled at me.

"I got two things actually. I got the pages for Thaddeus Winslow Cooper III and I got a very angry Interpol fox chasing me throughout the rooftops. I lost her after I got her to fly off on that giant Muggshot balloon," I smiled at him.

"She heard about you from Raleigh, huh?" Sly smirked.

"Right on the money, ringtail," I smiled at him as I then knew we only had one more place to hit up before Muggshot himself. "Want to go to the last area together?" I smiled at him.

"Of course," Sly smiled at me as we then proceeded to the elevator to the area with the giant neon Muggshot letters.


	7. Muggshot's Big Bang

**Chapter 7**

Once we got the page and key from the area with the giant neon letters (and destroying one of the Gs with the wrecking ball... it was awesome!) Sly and I went over the three different page sections we got. Sly smirked at Thaddeus's pages and whipped up a disguise in five seconds flat. He looked like a dog now and it looked weird. I then did the same thing with me deciding to disguise myself as a poodle... or what I'd assume a poodle looked like if it were sentient. Sly smirked at my appearance and winked at me.

"Nice asthetic. You look like you'd give any dog a bone now," Sly said, me blushing at that and lightly slapping him with my hand.

"You cheeky little raccoon!" I smirked at him in embarrassment. He never said anything THIS risque in the games!

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. Besides, you make all the puns, what's stopping me from making a few?" Sly smirked, me giggling at that.

"You got me there," I smiled as I then unlocked the wall with the 7 keys and hit the switch, the ugly mug of Muggshot opening up to reveal the hidden elevator.

"Now to take out the beefed up bulldog. Be careful, guys," Meg said to me.

"Thanks, sis," I smiled at her as we went to the elevator and rode it up, me smirking at the elevator music. It was the music for Muggshot's fight, but it was in the tone of elevator music. We then emerged into the arena and saw Muggshot sitting at his chair.

"Whuh? My boys have been yappin' about some mysterious dudes runnin' around crackin' skulls and... and... and this is it? Yer the monkey wrenches in my operation? Some scrawny rats with sticks!... Eh... wait a second... I've seen those sticks before," Muggshot frowned.

"Maybe when you assaulted the Coopers and killed an innocent kid's parents right in front of him," I frowned as I pointed at Sly.

"Whoa... yer a Cooper?... I didn't even know that you were there... so... youse saw that?" Muggshot asked.

"Yes, I did. So would you like to hand over what you stole from me? Or do you want to learn your lesson the hard way?" Sly asked with seriousness.

"What, are ya kiddin'?! You break into my place, steal my stuff, trash the joint, AND you... whatever you are, keep on insultin' my boys with pennies instead of a real callin' card! I feel transgressed and violated! Let's rock!" Muggshot growled, me smirking at that last bit he said as he walked forward on his fists directly for us.

"So you know, I have a name. Ella. But you can call me... Ella... Unknown!" I exclaimed as I took a hat I got from one of the card throwing dogs and threw it directly at Muggshot's fists, it exploding on contact! And the aftermath? His fists looked quite burned and he gulped at how it hurt to move his hands. He couldn't even grab onto his guns because they hurt!

"Well, well, I guess those hulking biceps are just for show. Just one hat bomb and you're too in pain to do anything! Now," I smiled as I approached Muggshot and he whimpered, trying to back up on his tiny legs. "Ready for round two?" I smiled.

"N-No..." Muggshot gulped.

"Sly? Want to do a double knockout dive?" I smiled at Sly.

"With pleasure," Sly smirked. We then lined our bodies against Muggshot's face and hit him directly in the face with both of our canes, me then kicking him right in the gonads with my tennis shoe! Muggshot whimpered and fell to the ground after that.

"This is impossible... little pipsqueaks like you... beatin' a big strong bruiser like me?... It ain't right!" Muggshot growled as I got to his chair and found the pages for Tennessee Kid Cooper. "You want all of that stupid picture book? Yer gonna have to go down to Haiti and cross paths with Mz Ruby... and then believe you me, you don't wanna be you!" Muggshot frowned.

"Nice to know, big guy... oh, and the reason you lost? You neglected leg day. You gotta do leg day, bud," I smiled at him, Muggshot scoffing at that and spitting at me... and that made me angry. I slammed him one more time in the jawline just for good measure after that. "You deserved that, bastard," I huffed as Sly and I then proceeded out of the place. And we had to leave quickly, as Carmelita was right outside of the main complex. We decided to leave via using an alternate route from the Muggshot sign rooftops, us making it to the van in about 20 minutes afterwards.

"Okay, time for us to go! And I think that we should take a vacation in Hollywood. What do you guys say?" I smiled at the others.

"Oh yeah! That sounds like a blast!" Meg smirked widely.

"We'd better get all the souvenirs we can. We almost never visit the states after all," Bentley smiled.

"On the way, let's read over the different pages we received. I think that we should start out with the replica technique user, Sir Andrew Cooper. Starting year of thieving, 1728," I smiled at that. Such a random number, but fitting considering he was around in Britain during the era of the rich nobles and the poor farmers. "It says, 'I noticed a strange collection of soldiers under the British empire. They were heading to the nearby villas and taking people out of their homes. These poor chaps were roughened up just for not having a pence to spare. So, when the guards weren't noticing, I created my copy to distract them. And once distracted, I then swooped in and defeated the army scum, freeing their would-be prisoners and telling them of a place for all poor. My den of thieves, who stole from the greedy nobles to give to all who were poor. It was a unanimous decision. I had obtained 3 score and 5 persons for my clan'," I read the book aloud, Sly smirking at that.

"So basically, he was a Robin Hood kind of guy, right?" Meg smiled at that.

"Who's Robin Hood?" Murray asked, me frowning at that. Guess some things just wouldn't get translated to this world.

"Back in our world, Robin Hood was a fictional character that was talked of back in times similar to Sir Andrew. He stole from the rich kings and nobles and gave the money to the poor, all while winning the heart of the king's daughter and marrying her away from her father to live with the thieves... there was even an animated movie where they depicted all of them as, well, animals, and Robin Hood was a fox," I smiled.

"Really? So that's probably why you weren't surprised when you saw us, huh? Because you'd seen animals like us before?" Sly asked.

"Pretty much, yeah," I smiled at that.


	8. An Offering of Friendship

**Chapter 8**

Our vacation to Hollywood was very interesting and even more fun than London! A lot of the Hollywood actors and actresses actually had names very similar (some exactly the same) as famous people in my world around the years of 2003! I knew all of them and smirked at how they were different animals that matched their personalities or names. Snoop Dogg was a bloodhound, Katy Perry was a leopard, Lady Gaga (or in this case, Lady Mew Mew) was a cat girl, but more like an orange tabby as opposed to cats like Neyla or Rajan, and my favorite, Patrick Warburton (also known as Joe from Family Guy) was, get this, a rattlesnake! He even had the same voice and everything! It was awesome!

Once the vacation was completed, we began our trek straight from Hollywood to Haiti, us beginning to look over the case file for Mz Ruby, me being the one to read about it this time. "Mz Ruby, infamous voodoo priestess and chief mystic of the Fiendish Five... born into a family of mystics, she was incredibly unpopular, other children finding her scary and not daring to come anywhere near her. Being a mystic herself, she started reviving creatures from the undead, finding solace in their company as they could be her only true friends... as an adult, she grew bitter towards her childhood loneliness and decided to take it out by becoming a criminal. Her powers over all things undead allowed her to see into the future and across long distances with her mind's eye, create legions of undead soldiers to do her bidding, and allow her to manipulate the world around her to a degree," I said, me now understanding how she could make the giant dragon head slam its teeth during the music in her boss fight.

"Sounds like she needs some kind of companion, huh?... I know I'd be bitter if I had no friends when I was a kid," I said with a frown.

"Yeah, but she still had a hand in that assault on my family," Sly frowned.

"But did she do any kind of attacking?" I asked him, Sly then trying to think on that. After a minute or so, he frowned.

"No, she didn't attack anything... all she did was find the vault for the Thievius Raccoonus. That's pretty much it," Sly said, me smiling at that.

"Maybe if we play our cards right, we could possibly get her as a potential ally, then? We wouldn't have to hurt her... besides, if what this case file says is true, then all she'd really need is a friend," I smiled, wondering if I may be able to talk to her soldiers to see if I could get her to hear my message at all.

"You know, for someone who's good at making fun of others, you actually have a caring side to you, Ella. I like that about you. It's good to have a good caring side to anyone. I know I'd never be able to do much without my friends Bentley and Murray," Sly smiled, earning a smile from the turtle and hippo.

"Thanks, Sly," I said along with the two other dudes. "Jynx! Double jynx!... Dammit, turtle boy wins," I frowned as Bentley was faster than I was at the calling of the Jynx.

* * *

When we finally arrived at the swamp that Mz Ruby was rumored to be at, Sly and I exited the van and proceeded on foot through the swamp in order to get to Mz Ruby. And when we got to the first hurdle, that being the vines, I smirked as I saw the red sparkles for me to run on them.

"Watch and perform the Raccoon Rail Walk, as perfected by your gunslingin' Old West ancestor, Tennessee Kid Cooper," I smiled, running on the branches and then getting on the other side with a smile. Sly snickered and followed after, us then jumping onto the slick vine and proceeding to the next areas of the swamp. When we did this, however, we came across a large spider and it didn't look too pleased to see us.

"Get out and back to where you have entered," the spider said in a ghoulish voice.

"Well that's no way to treat a guest. We just wanted to visit Mz Ruby. We have some snacks," I smiled as I presented a couple of cookies that were in my purse that I saved from the trip to Hollywood. The spider looked at me in confusion and inspected the cookies. It felt creepy having a giant spider next to me, but the spider didn't seem to be threatened by my words.

It then turned around and started to make some clacking noises, me then hearing a voice from out of nowhere along with Sly.

"We have some hospitable visitors, you say? Well, who do I owe the pleasure of inviting to my lovely swamp?" asked a voice that was heavily Jamaican. Mz Ruby without a doubt.

"Well, we were just wanting to do a quick visit, maybe have some time, and also ask for the pages of that book?" I asked, Mz Ruby mulling it over before she saw Sly.

"So, we have a Cooper in our midst, do we? And he wishes to get his book back, you say?" Mz Ruby asked.

"Don't worry, Mz Ruby. I don't plan on hurting you or any of your undead friends. I just want what rightfully belongs to me. And... we also wanted to know if you'd be willing to have a partnership?" Sly asked, me changing the words when I heard him say that.

"No, not just a partnership. We're offering friendship too," I smiled, me wondering what her response would be.

"Are you trying to bluff me out? You're really saying you want to be friends with me? I can tell if you're lying or not, you know?" Mz Ruby asked with distrust in her voice.

"Listen, we read your case file on the way over here. I know it must be incredibly hard growing up without many friends. I just wanted to know if you'd be willing to accept my friendship. You don't have to if you don't want to, I just wanted to know if you could be willing to let bygones be bygones and we can just get along. All we ask for in return are the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus. And so you know, we know you didn't do anything to hurt Sly's family. We know it was all Muggshot and Clockwerk," I said, Mz Ruby mulling it over again, me wondering what she was thinking.

"You know what? Just because you sound so nice and I have smelled zero lies during our talk, I'll make you a deal," Mz Ruby said, me smirking at that.

"We're listening," I smiled at her.

"If you can find every single one of my Treasure Keys, get past my children in order to get to them, AND beat me in a dance battle, I'll go ahead and join your little team. You think you're up for it?" Mz Ruby asked with a happiness to her voice. One that I'd never heard before.

"You, my friend, have got yourself a deal. You don't mind if we happen to have the codes for the safes holding the pages in the meantime, do you?" I smiled at her.

"Sure, go on ahead. That's part of the challenge after all," Mz Ruby said with a laugh.

"Well, then it looks like we're going to do this now. Come on, Sly, time to go get those keys and pages," I smirked at my ringtail friend.

"Right behind ya," Sly smiled, me smiling in my head at how we could strike a deal with Mz Ruby. But I made sure my head was filled with happy thoughts, since I knew very well that she could read my mind if she wanted to. I just had to be careful what I thought, especially with someone as powerful in voodoo as her. Especially because of the obvious reason that I shan't mention (that I was from another world that knew everything about this one... she probably can't see these things in parenthesis anyways).


	9. Speaking Through Thoughts

**Chapter 9**

"Okay, that felt weird... I suddenly got some kind of strange purple mist in my face and now I know the codes to not only Mz Ruby's safes, but also her cohorts' safes too... you must've really left an impression on her, sis," Meg said to me after she got me the codes for the end of the entrance area. And the page obtained from it was Kelle McCooper's Electrical Raccoon Roll.

"All I did was be honest with her and she gave us a solid deal. Now if we can get the pages and Treasure Keys, get past her undead army, and beat her in a dance fight, we'll have a new friend on our team. One that has magic," I smiled, doing the last bit like I was in a fairy tale... which, given my current situation, I may as well have been.

We had already gotten the key by destroying the torches and knocking out the voodoo guards and we then opened the door to get into the main hub, us proceeding into it and seeing the giant dragon head... to be honest, seeing it in person and looking at me in the distance was actually much more creepy and eerie than what I expected.

"My paranormal scanners are maxing out on that giant dragon-shaped structure," Bentley said.

"That's most definitely Mz Ruby then. She is the one who created all these undead creatures, so she's got to have the most powerful mojo of all," I said with a smile.

"If you want to get to Mz Ruby, you'll need to find a way into that Skull Temple," Meg said to me with a smile.

"Roger that, sis, beginning entry to swamp lair effective immediately," I smiled as Sly and I then proceeded to ride the slick vine into the main area. I then decided that I'd go a safer route for my first go. "I'm going to go explore up here... you think you can handle that area there?" I asked Sly, pointing him to the direction of the place that I didn't want to go to. The place with the giant snake monster.

"Sure, no problem," Sly said... but then, of course, just for thinking that, I got some backlash from Mz Ruby... though thankfully, it didn't look like Sly could hear her.

"Uh... how did ya know that there's a giant snake monster living in that area? Do you got something to tell me, girl?" Mz Ruby asked me, which I sighed at, then thinking some thoughts to her.

'I'll only tell you if you promise to not speak a word of it to anyone else. Not Sly, not my sister, not even my allies in Bentley and Murray. Just between me and you, okay?' I thought to her.

"I'm listening and I promise," Mz Ruby said.

'Okay... I actually knew about all of this stuff beforehand... I know what to expect in this swamp and I know that you were planning on leading an assault on Mexico before we came here,' I said to her with thoughts, Mz Ruby gasping at that.

"How did you know about that? Spill the beans, Ella!" Mz Ruby said to me, her knowing my name not surprising me that much.

'Well... I come from a different dimension... one that knows everything about this world and what it will hold in terms of the Cooper Gang... because it was all a series of video games in my world,' I thought to her, showing her what I saw in this world in particular, the fight with Panda King, and even the dance battle in the game I would have with her. I knew it was a big risk, but I didn't care. It would be better that Mz Ruby know now than to have my thoughts be in censored mode for the entire time I was around her.

"So... you know pretty much everything about me, my dance battle strategy, and how to get at my Treasure Keys?" Ruby asked me.

'Yes... But I am still being completely honest when I say that I want to be friends with you... I don't know how to describe it, but you were probably the most enjoyable aspect of the first game, especially the dance battle and the different level types. And the fact that you only became a criminal because you were angry at the world for fearing you as a child? I wouldn't want to wish extreme loneliness on even my worst enemies... in my world, people were social creatures, so if we were alone to our thoughts for prolonged amounts of time with no one to talk to, we went insane. I don't want that to be the case for you, especially when you have such awesome powers. I mean, manipulating the ground and objects to do your bidding? Creating minions from moss, leaves, and bones? And the fact that you can attack people with a mojo-fueled dance fight? You were probably the coolest boss I'd ever battled in the games!' I thought out a very long series of thoughts.

Mz Ruby took a couple minutes to respond as I got to the area with the ghosts.

"You... You think my powers are... cool?" Mz Ruby asked... in a bashful way! She sounded almost embarrassed...

'I do... your powers are probably my favorite part of you. I really want to know what else you can do with magic. Besides, there were no such things as magic in my world, just fairy tales of magic that weren't true,' I smiled in thought.

"No one... no one has ever given me that kind of compliment before... I don't know what to say... thanks..." I heard her say... I could hear her starting to sniffle at that, me smiling and crying happily as well.

"You're welcome, Ruby. You're welcome," I smiled at her, speaking with my mouth instead of thoughts this time.

"No one's called me Ruby in so long either... I miss being called that... is this what it's like to finally have a friend? Like a real, true friend?" Ruby asked with a smile.

"It is. I felt the same way when I made my first friend... and honestly, I wasn't really too popular either in school, to be honest... my first friend was actually a pen pal that I had in 5th grade in my world. She was very fun and even though we were in different countries with different languages, she still took the time to write me in my language and I wrote in hers, which was Spanish. She was the one who introduced me to video games in the first place, believe it or not," I smiled at her.

"And one of those video games was the one you say was based on this world?" Ruby asked.

"Yes," I smiled. I didn't even bother trying to go through the gauntlet in the middle of the level and tried to do a large leap from the ground to the upper canopy. And to my delight, it actually worked!

"Once you get all those keys and pages, I'm going to warp directly to you with the page I'm keeping with myself... I don't need a dance battle. Not after I finally found a true friend in you," Ruby smiled at me. I didn't even care that the plot was changed. The fact that Ruby was now on our side and that I made a friend in her made me quite happy.

"Thanks, Ruby," I smiled at her.

"You're welcome, Ella... Friend," Ruby smiled.


	10. The Most Disgusting Waterfall Ever

**Chapter 10**

After that talk with Ruby, I managed to get the pages to Slaigh MacCooper, who was the inventor of the Wall Edge Sneak move. You know, the one that I'd been using to creep along walls? Well, he also made another move, the Bone-Cracker Crush technique. And when I read it, I felt much stronger and proceeded to use the move on the ground, me gawking at how I actually felt a miniature tremor after doing so!

"Whoa... that's a pretty powerful punch, Ella!" Sly smirked at me as I met back up with him.

"Got it from your Scottish Ancestor, Slaigh MacCooper. This page depicts him with muscles even bigger than Muggshot's and using a gigantic stone cane! If this page is true in what it says, then Slaigh could smash through any lock with a single strike! We're definitely reading his entry later on... and what paged did you get?" I asked him, Sly shaking a bit at the thought of what he probably encountered.

"Well, while you were out in that one area, I had to contend with a giant monster that wanted me for dinner! It's behind that gate right there!" Sly said, pointing at the gate in question. "And... the page I got from that area was from my grandfather, Bruce O' Coop. He was a master computer hacker and he had the ability to hack any computer he came across, even ones that were around when my father was doing his thieving businesses," Sly smiled.

"Sounds like he was pretty smart. Maybe Meg and Bentley could use that page more than we could," I smiled at him.

"Aw, thanks for the compliment, sis," Meg smirked at me.

"You're welcome," I smiled at my sis as I got the key that Sly had on him. "I saw a hologram behind this bone fence here. You can handle that place while I open the way to the temple, okay? I'll contend with the beast," I smiled at Sly.

"Thanks," he said as he proceeded to go on the bone rope to the piranha lake and I went to the gate with the keys.

"Tss... please don't eat me..." I hissed sharply as I opened the gate and immediately ducked for cover, the giant snake roaring loudly and me seeing that he demolished the gate in no time! I then gasped as I saw his face for myself... it was even more frightening and hideous than in the game, him not even having any eyeballs and looking like something you'd see in Dark Souls! He then roared again and went back into the gate, me immediately locking it back up.

"Okay, that thing was scary as all fuck," I gulped as I then went over to the area with the giant ectoplasm beater, Bentley getting in my connections this time.

"That giant machine is responsible for mixing up that unsanitary mess," Bentley said.

"I guess you have a weak stomach, huh, turtle?" I smiled at him.

"Yes, I do," Bentley groaned.

"Don't worry, Bentley. I got contacted by Ruby earlier and we had a bit of a heart-to-heart. So much in fact, she said she'd just immediately come with us the moment we get the last of her Treasure Keys, no dance fight required," I smiled.

"Really? You must be an expert negotiator," Bentley said.

"That, or I'm just extremely friendly," I smiled. "Anyways, I think I need to ask Ruby a question while I go through the next area. Particularly about this giant beater... I'm seeing bones and skin parts in the muck that it's beating up, and I don't think that's a good thing to keep around," I said with a gag.

"Yeah, about that, you can go ahead and destroy that giant beating machine anytime you want after you get the last key. It gives me added mojo magic and more strength, but not enough to the point that I'm powerless without it. I want to go with you no matter where you go, Ella," Ruby said, me smiling at her and Bentley gawking at that.

"I guess you heard that too, huh Bentley?" I smiled at him.

"Y-Yeah... she's even got telepathic powers. I didn't think that was possible," Bentley gulped.

"I'm going to go to the next area now... I'll need to use the shadows of the masks to hide myself from the guards," I said, getting into the shadows of the mask and proceeding to the area with the disgusting waterfall filled with body parts. I didn't expect how gross it'd be when I saw it up close... but when I did see it, I almost lost my lunch.

The waterfall was not only green, but it had visible blood in some parts too. There were also entire heads, legs, arms, and even tails that were being battered down the giant waterfall, some having all of their rotted skin, others having a few bits missing, and some with no skin at all. And the stench... I am not joking when I said I nearly lost my lunch! This place smelled absolutely horrible!

"Gugh... I... I think I'm gonna need a shower... after this trip..." I gagged at the sight, Ruby smirking and giggling at that.

"Yeah, I know it smells bad, but dead bodies are the only way to fuel my excess mojo magic... and if you're wondering, no, they aren't fresh. I get them from graves and then I put them in the river system to eventually be made into ectoplasm," Ruby said, my face turning green at that and me finally giving my own bit of mojo magic... by vomiting right in the river.

"Ugh... take a note, Ruby... when we go on vacation after this... you're doing my laundry... I got some puke on my shirt just now..." I gagged as my throat burned from the bile coming out of my body.

"That's fair... don't mean to be rude, but do you happen to come from the city?" Ruby asked.

"Back in my universe, I lived in a rural town off the back roads of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The worst smell I got in that place was the smell of cow shit. And this smell here? This river of body parts?... It's ten times worse than the biggest barn of shit I've ever had to be in... and the piles of shit in that barn were up to my knees," I groaned as I got up to the vault and got the codes put in, me then getting the page for Matthew de le Coopeur's Slow Motion technique. I then tried it out and saw that time slowed down all over... except for me!

"Sweet!" I smirked as I then proceeded to the candle that would reveal the vine, me then hitting it and seeing the vine appear. I then road it all the way to the key... and immediately regretted doing so as I had to get that disgusting water dumped onto my body. "Make another note... when we get out of here, I'm going to need a shower... in cleaning chemicals!" I gagged as I immediately grabbed the key and saw that Sly had already got out and over to the chicken area. How did I know this? Tons of clucking and bocking from the building nearby.

"I'm going to go up there and wait for the raccoon to finish beating up mindless chickens," I smiled, heading up there and smirking when Sly came out of the place with the final keys and the smell of glorious roast chicken!

"Whew, that was a rough party in there," Sly said.

"But you smell delicious," I smiled at him.

"And I believe we just got the last of the keys. Did you get any pages?" Sly asked.

"Yes, I got a couple pages from Matthew de le Coopeur, inventor of the slow motion technique. Not just slow motion jumping. Watch," I smiled as I slowed down time all around me and started to motion Sly into a different pose, him looking shocked at how I made him sit in a squatting position and holding his cane like he were presenting a sword.

"Uh... that's cool," Sly smiled.

"But it isn't nearly as cool as the technique on this page I have," I heard Ruby say... but this time, it wasn't in my head.

"Ruby? Where are you?" I asked. I then smiled when I felt a couple of hands around my body and I hugged back, seeing that it was Ruby... but she didn't look at all like the case files OR the game... she looked smaller... in fact, she looked like she were in her child form again!

"Ruby... what... what happened to you? You look... younger!" I gawked at her.

"I don't really know myself... it actually happened after I decided you were my friend... I suddenly felt my body become younger, down to the point of me becoming a kid again... my guess is that it's because of my mojo magic originating at a time where I didn't have any friends... so it's my magic's way of giving me a chance to start over," Ruby said, her voice actually changing to sound more like a little girl's... she was faking that older girl talk the whole time and I had no idea!

"Well, no matter how old or how small you are, you're still my friend, Ruby," I smiled at her, hugging her gently while handing the keys over to Sly. "Go ahead and destroy that mojo mixer... and I'm still serious about you doing my laundry, Ruby," I smiled at her.

"I know. And quite frankly, I deserve it," Ruby smirked. "That place is quite smelly, even for me," Ruby smiled. Sly then destroyed the giant egg beater and Ruby stayed the same age, but I could feel a bit of strength exit her body and into the air, almost like it left her body.

"Okay, now time to go back to the van... uh-oh... and we better move quickly, Sly. A certain fox has just arrived and she looks pissed," I gulped, pointing in the direction of Carmelita, who was coming into our area of the swamp on a commandeered fishing boat! "Ruby, get on my back, it's time to get out of here!" I smirked... but then Ruby started to do something.

"Okus-hay... Olokus-pay... okus-fay... okus-fay..." she started saying, the words confusing me until she said them progressively quicker until we suddenly had our entire existence change to right in front of the van!

"Whoa! Did you just teleport us out of the swamp?!" Sly asked Ruby.

"Hah... yeah... I need sleep now... that's probably the only time I'll be able to do that for a few months..." Ruby smiled as she then started to snooze on my back, which made me smirk.

"Yeah, I could use some sleep too... Come on, Sly, let's get in the van. We're taking a vacation at an ocean-side resort this time," I smiled widely.

"Do we have the money for that?" Sly asked.

"Uh, yeah, remember the big bet I made with Muggshot's mutts? I got at least 40 thousand bucks from that along with the 30 grand I got from the big diamond from Raleigh's lair. And converting to Euros, that means about 61 thousand Euros, more than enough for us to get a hotel in the Bahamas," I smiled at him.

"So we're going to go to sheep country?" Bentley asked, me not getting what he said... but Meg did.

"HAHAHAAAHA! Oh, you gotta be kidding me! HAH!" she laughed like a lunatic.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Bahamas! Sheep! Bah-hamas! Get it?!" Meg laughed, me then getting the joke and having a good laugh myself.

"Okay, that's probably one of the most clever animal-based puns I've ever heard since my time in this world. You just gotta tell me that's true, Sly!" I smiled at him.

"It's true, the Bahamas are widely populated by sheep people," Sly smiled, me smiling and laughing myself to sleep... I guess I was a bit exhausted after all.


	11. A Certain Pirate's Undying Spirit

**Chapter 11**

After a well-needed shower (where I lathered my body with soap 3 times!) at the hotel and after having been in the sun for a few days, I only then decided to check my phone... and guess what? Stupid me actually forgot that I'd downloaded a bunch of Youtube videos on my phone! And guess what? They were still there! Still able to be watched despite me being in a different universe!... But of course, I had to change it a bit so that I didn't have any Sly Cooper videos on it. It'd only be evidence I knew about everything.

I then decided to show some of the videos of people in my world to the others, them being amazed at how many different varieties that humans could have in terms of appearance.

"So this is what humans look like in your world?" Sly asked when he saw a video that was basically a compilation of humans doing funny things on camera.

"Yeah, not what you expected, huh?" I smiled at him.

"There are so many different varieties... literally no one human looks the same!" Ruby gawked at it with curiosity. She actually was a bit curious about a lot of things, such as why I needed to shower with three cycles of lathering and rinsing, why I didn't have anything protecting me down below (she accidentally saw me when I got out of the shower) and why I was a total carnivore and ate steak like it was cake. I guess it may have been because of her becoming a child again, which I smiled at her newfound curiosity with her regressed age.

"Well, some humans do look similar, but only if they happen to be identical twins, which are actually very rare in my world for humans. Oh, here's a video of two kids who are identical twins. They starred in a sitcom," I smiled, showing the intro video for Zack and Cody from Disney, the group smirking at how both of the kids looked alike but they were in very comical situations just from the intro alone. Such as the horse in the hotel, the pie in the face, and the usual antics of Mister Moseby.

"Yeah, but we also had numerous video games in my world, all of them different," I smiled, thinking a single thought to Ruby. 'Remember, no telling'. She smirked and nodded as we then got into the videos about video games, me deciding to show my absolute favorite video game first, it being from another game with animals that wasn't this world. Well, it had animals and humans in it, but the animals were actually mutants.

"Who's that?" Bentley asked when he saw the orange furred marsupial himself... and his sister. In the N Sane Trilogy... yeah, I liked the older games better, but the N Sane Trilogy models were much better visually.

"That, my friends, is the duo of Crash Bandicoot and Coco Bandicoot. This was my favorite game series back in my world. You pretty much use either Crash or Coco to go to different worlds and levels in order to stop a mad scientist from taking over the world. The first game he tried to use an army of mutants to do so, then the second game has the bad guy trying to brainwash the entire world, and the final game has you going across time and space to stop the baddies from messing with time itself," I smiled.

"Sounds far out..." Murray gawked.

"Yeah, but it didn't really end well for these furry badasses... they started to go down in quality very... very quickly. That stuff I showed you was from their resurgence on the latest generations of gaming consoles. And this is actually what they looked like originally," I said, showing the blocky polygons the Playstation was known for.

"Ugh, that's quite a difference in scale," Sly gawked at it.

"Yep. This was the 1990's, where video games were massively successful. My favorite games were on the Playstation, but that changed when the next generation of consoles came out. Crash Bandicoot was given to a different developer and this is what happened..." I said, putting on a video of Crash Wrath of Cortex's opening scene and them looking gobsmacked at the graphics.

"How do those look worse than the original games' graphics? You said this was a better console, right?" Bentley gawked.

"Yeah, I did, but the people who made this game weren't smart at all. They then got another game, but this time, it was fun. Same with the next game... but then the third of those games, which were called the Action Pack, screwed up Crash Bandicoot for the worst. And how?" I asked, me simply playing a video of the loading screen. Just press the button on the remote and..." I groaned, the noises appearing afterwards. Fart and burp noises.

Ruby laughed a bit at the first few, but then her laughter faded after a few more. "As you can imagine, this drastic shift made Crash Bandicoot fans pretty upset. The next two games were a reboot for the series, but they were made in the late 2000's, where games kept on trying to be edgy and dark, opting for combat styles and darker stories... that didn't bode too well for Crash Bandicoot either, because they tried to take all the characters and redesign them into something they thought would be 'hip' and 'cool'. This is the results," I frowned, showing them a couple of downloaded pictures of the in-game models of Crash, Coco, and Cortex, the main baddie.

"Yeah, those designs are not cool. They look like they're trying way too hard to look cool and failing miserably... but then again, I never knew what cool was," Ruby said.

"Me neither, because I fell for these games hook line and sinker when I was growing up. But after playing them a second time through, they were the definition of cringe," I groaned.

"That's sad," Bentley frowned.

"Yeah, but just before I got warped here, they actually were coming out with another revamped title, which happened to be one of the best-selling racing games of all time. Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled. And fans were insanely hyped for it as was I... shame I'll never know how big it was," I frowned.

"Yeah... anyways, about those pages..." Sly said, me gasping and smacking my face at that.

"Dammit, I forgot that we had those pages and we didn't even look at their stories!" I groaned as I then took out Slaigh's and began to read it... luckily, he wrote quite well and it was in English, just with a couple word differences from his Scottish Background.

"The night was a cold one, a wee spot o' gold hanging from a cord by the camp. The crooks heard aboot my coming and wanted to lay a trap. I was not fooled, however. I snuck through the walls with nae a sound, reaching the top rung and smashing the legs of the crook that dangled the gold. After, did I enter the base and smash apart ten vaults, each one containing a dozen gold ingots. With my surreal strength, I smashed a hole right through the weak back wall and jumped from the cliff to a narrow ledge, running along the wall until I was far out of reach of the vile Vikings, their gold mine, tried and true as the day they tried to noose me wife," Slaigh's entry said, that being one of only two stories in the three pages he had.

"Well, looks like Slaigh was just as daring as he was buff," I smiled at that entry.

"Yeah, but look at the picture... and also this one that Ruby gave us," Sly said, me then noting what he was talking about. Clockwerk's shadow in both. For Slaigh, he was hiding behind a ledge while Clockwerk flew in from afar. And for Slytunkhamen, the shadow of Clockwerk looming down over the invisible thief's body, his wings folded and ready to pounce.

"Is... Is that Clockwerk?" Ruby asked in shock.

"You seriously don't know?" I asked her in confusion.

"I know he paid me and the other Fiendish Five members a lot of money that night... and that he killed those two people... but I didn't know that he was this old and this obsessed with the Cooper clan..." Ruby gawked as she saw all the different pictures of Clockwerk in every single other page we'd collected, her gasping and falling on her butt in shock.

"Ruby! Are you okay?" I asked, picking her up from the ground... but then she opened her mouth and I heard a voice I didn't expect to hear.

"Defeat Clockwerk! Defeat the curse upon the Cooper legacy!" I heard a voice say from Ruby's mouth before she gasped and breathed in and out, me wondering what the heck just happened.

"What was that?" Bentley asked.

"That... that was one of Sly's ancestors... I usually require the soul of a person in order to have them speak from my mouth and control my body for a time... but that girl voice... who was it and why did it sound so cockney?" Ruby asked... before she gasped again, me then hearing that same voice again.

"Are ya daft, gator girl?! I'm Captain of the Cooper Mistress, Henriette 'One Eye' Cooper! 'Oo da hell d'ya think it was? Pappy Rioichi? Try again!" said the voice again, me gasping at that as Ruby then gasped again.

"What's she trying to do right now, Ruby? Because it looks like she's doing something... explanation please?" Meg asked in confusion and fear for our new gator companion.

"She's... she's trying to merge her energy with mine... to become a second personality of sorts... and she won't let up a bit!" Ruby groaned as she held her head before gasping again.

"Just lemme be a part of ya, knave! I wanna kick butt again an' I certainly ain't doin' it as no ghost! Please! Don't make me beg, cos Henriette don't beg for nobody no how," Henriette said in Ruby's mouth, me glaring at the pirate girl and getting angry.

"Leave her alone! You're hurting her! Don't hurt my friend, you bitch!" I exclaimed, the gang all gasping when I said this and Henriette furrowing Ruby's eyes at me.

"What'd you call me, landlubber?" Henriette asked.

"You're going about it all wrong, Henriette! You don't just show up out of nowhere and expect to force your way into my friend's brain! She's been through an awful lot already and you're only adding onto her stress! If you want to have anyone's body, then come into mine, got it?" I growled at her, Henriette frowning as I then saw a spectral mist escape Ruby's nose and Ruby then regained control with tears in her eyes. I then simply let the mist enter my nose and I felt Henriette in my head. She immediately tried to make it painful, but I hit myself in the brain when she did that.

"Oi! Would ya cut it out?!" Henriette growled at me.

"How about not hurting me for a change of pace?!" I growled angrily at her.

"It's the only way I can become part o' ye! Now cork your mouth before I cork it fer ya!" Henriette growled, me simply grinning and bearing the pain in my head, feeling a massive migraine from it as my eye began to twitch... until, finally, I felt at ease... a voice coming out of my head afterwards. "Heh, yer tougher than I thought, creature. What to call ya though..." Henriette frowned, me growling at her angrily.

"How about by my actual fucking name? You think that'd be fine and dandy enough after you just wrecked my brain?" I growled angrily at her.

"Depends. What's yer name?" Henriette asked me.

"Ella. Ella Unknown is my thief name, though," I frowned.

"Heh, I like that thief name. I'll call ya Ellie for a nickname and Ella Unknown for serious gigs," Henriette said, me frowning at this new plot twist. And it was clear that we were not happy to have her along for the ride.

"Ugh, let's just forget about what just happened for now and focus on what we do now... who do we go after next in the Fiendish Five?" Sly asked.

"I suggest the Fiendish Five's demolitions expert. The Panda King from China. He's tough... with a Capital T," Ruby said.

"Considering your abilities, I'd say he'd put up a hell of a fight considering that you have magic up the whazoo," I frowned at Ruby.

"Yeah," Ruby smiled.

"So where is he right now, in China?" Sly asked.

"The Kun-Lun Mountains. He's got a base set up right smack in the middle of them all," Ruby said.

"Then let's get going! Off to China!... By the way, what is China? Never heard of that place in all me days of seafaring," Henriette frowned.

"It's a place in Eastern Asia. It's literally the most populated country in the entire world, especially in my world," I frowned.

"Yer world? What do ya mean?..." Henriette asked, me simply telling her words only in thought form.

'Tell them anything about my world from what you see in my brain and I'll force you out of my head and back to wherever your soul was before,' I growled at her. That was enough for Henriette to stop looking through my memories. "Okay, time to go off to China... it's gonna be at least a day's worth of travel, so we'll need to be ready," Bentley said.


	12. Ascending the Mountain

**Chapter 12**

To be honest, having Henriette in my head was actually kind of helpful, as she had a lot of information about Clockwerk that she was willing to share with me... but only me, as I told her the same things I told Ruby. And she understood the situation, even though she really wanted to tell at least Sly about what the future would hold.

"Okay, it's getting a bit chilly, so we must be close, huh?" I asked with a smile as I started to shiver slightly.

"We're only ten minutes away from the base of the Kun Lun mountains," Murray said.

"Okay, then we're going to have some fun shortly," I smiled as I tried to activate invisibility from Slytunkhamen's entry in the Thievius Raccoonus, me being able to execute it perfectly!

"This invisibility could be useful in the mountains, and for pranks on Halloween," I smiled widely, Sly smirking at that as he also tried it out and turned invisible.

"This is going to be great!" Sly smiled at how his clothes also turned invisible when we used the technique.

After about 9 minutes of waiting, the Murray parked the van right at the base of the mountain, right on a bridge that was only a few inches wider than the van was!

"Excellent driving, Murray!" I smirked at him.

"Aw, it was nothin'," Murray smiled back.

"Time to get going," Ruby smiled, me looking at her in confusion.

"You want to come with us, Ruby?" I asked her.

"Of course! I want to help you guys out after what you did for me... that and I feel I owe you big time for that one instance all those years ago, Sly," Ruby said to Sly, me smiling and petting the gator girl on the head.

"Then wot're we waitin' fer, a mermaid? Let's get goin'!" Henriette exclaimed in my head, me smirking at her and simply flicking my temple to shut her up. No dice. "Oi! Stop doing that!" she groaned at me.

"I only do it to mess with you. You should know this by now," I smirked at her as we then proceeded onward up the slopes, taking out a couple of giant pole wielding apes before going up a larger hill. This was where a giant ape sent a tiny monkey down the slopes in a snowball to try and hurt us... but he didn't take into account that I could also use a ball form, one with electricity! And when I saw that the monkey was completely helpless after just one minion, I then shocked him to sleep with an electrical roll of doom!

"Sweet!" Ruby smiled as we went forward some more and then saw the sight of the Panda King's statue and a firework being launched from it.

"Would you look at that, a fireworks show!" Bentley said... which turned to fear and shock for all of us when we saw the firework hit the mountain and cause an avalanche to not only cover up the houses, but completely demolish them and all of its citizens in the debris!

"THIS is what the Panda King has been doing since we disbanded?! Even I wouldn't go so far to as to murder an entire village of innocent people! We need to get up there fast, before he kills another town!" Ruby exclaimed in anger and shock.

"I couldn't agree more," Sly said as we then used a hook to get up a ledge, Ruby doing something else in order to join us. What'd she do? She used her mojo magic to levitate herself off the ground!

"Levitation? Well played, Ruby," I smirked at her with a wink. She giggled at that and I just smiled at it. Ever since she had turned into her child form, I thought she was cute as a button, even though she did still play with some spare bones she kept on her from time to time. We then moved through the area bit by bit until we reached the area with the giant guard station and the large gate in front of us.

"Looks like we'll need to improvise our way to get to those fireworks in the guards' positions. I'm going into stealth mode," I smiled with my breath being in whisper form as I then started to hide myself with invisibility, inching myself across the wall carefully with it up and smirking at how I was able to move slowly with invisibility already. So I bet that using the invisibility with Huckleberry Cooper would allow me to run and jump while using it!

I soon got to the house itself and sent tons of fireworks at the guards, them all getting knocked for a loop as well as getting very badly hurt from the blast while getting knocked out.

"Threat nullified, now to open the gate," I smiled as I sent forth the fireworks in front of me, the first of them going to the gate and opening it up with a large blast. And the second one opened the hatch right behind me! I then got into the hatch and contacted my sister. "I've found a vault and am requesting the codes," I smiled at Meg.

"Okay, sending code for that vault right now," Meg said to me, giving me the code and me putting it in, grabbing the page within and seeing it was indeed Huck Cooper's move for moving while staying invisible. Only for this one, you could move at any speed and jump while doing so! And get this, if you came across someone else who was invisible, so long as you both were using it, you'd be able to see them!

I then opened the rolling door and saw Sly and Ruby had moved on and got the Treasure Key from the guards in the courtyard ahead. And when I looked to my right, all the guards were in a pile and making strange noises with big derpy smiles on them.

"Just a little bit of mojo magic and I can make their minds start tripping out as if they were on ecstasy," Ruby smiled.

"How long does it last?" I smiled at her as she opened up the gate.

"For as long as I say so. And I decided I'd have them doped out like this for 4 hours tops," Ruby giggled as we got into the stronghold and we made our way to the roof and saw the ceiling hatch in our way.

"We're going to need to destroy this ceiling hatch... and I see a good bit of fireworks we could use in this cage here. We'll need two more keys to open it up... I'm starting to see a pattern here," I smiled at it.

"Yeah, me too," Sly smirked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ruby smiled, playing innocent, me smirking at her.

"You did the same thing with your area, Ruby," I smirked at her while petting her tiny head.

"Cut it out! Haha!" Ruby giggled.

"By the way, Sly, I have something for you. A page that will allow us to run, jump, and move quickly while staying invisible," I smiled as I gave him the page with a smirk.

"Thanks, Ella," Sly smiled as he then put Huck's page in the book and I smiled at how it was actually during the time of the Roman Empire, around the turn form BC to AD, but the page depicted Huck Cooper as being from Africa's southern half.

"I'm going to go over to this area here," I smiled, pointing to the level of King of the Hill.

"I'll go to this area then," Sly smiled, pointing to the one to the west, the one with invisibility usage.

"And I'll go to this one here," Ruby smiled, pointing to the Flaming Temple of Flame.

"Let's do this. We don't have all day," I smiled as I then went to the area that I would go get the key from... only to see no turret at all and for me to start out at the base of the area.

"Time to get that key," I smirked, going invisible and running my way up the place, me actually taking out guards left and right with them none the wiser at all! I did this for the entire run, even to the point where I got the key without any security at all!

"Wow... that was easy!" I smirked, only taking three minutes to do all of the run on my lonesome!

I then got back to the Stronghold and started to hear the Panda King over the intercom.

"Attention, Panda employees... sadly, village to west of my stronghold could not pay for avalanche protection service, so I had to bury village in snow. Keep sharp and defend stronghold from hostile invasion. Thank you, that is all," the Panda King said, me growling at how he murdered people and didn't even care. How he was able to let it all go in between this game and game number three was beyond me!

"I'm gonna wait here for my allies I guess," I smiled as I just tried to catch little bits of snow on my tongue, smirking at how I caught a couple stray flakes. It was my favorite thing to do during winter. Trying to catch snowflakes. "Shame that this can't last... France almost never gets any snow," I smiled, getting homesick again, but it only being mild homesickness.

"What was your world like, mate?" Henriette asked me, me smirking at her. She had been quiet for awhile, so she must've been having fun in my mind or something.

"It was a mixed bag, to be brutally honest. Most people were quite nice, but there was just as much, if not even worse crimes in my world than in this one. Tons of war, segregation based on skin tone and religions, and people having very wildly differing opinions on tons of discussions. And the result of all that was tons of death and destruction... the current war against terrorism in my world has killed tons of Americans and people of religion across the world, and the government of the nation doing this stuff has done nothing to help... in fact, they allow it to happen," I frowned.

"That's messed up, mate... but if ye ask me, Clockwerk would be even worse. Killing any Cooper and anyone affiliated with the Coopers as far back as Slytunkhamen's time... but not to worry, I know his fatal weakness," Henriette smiled.

"Yeah? What is it?" I asked, being coy again.

"Electricity, duh. Just shoot 'im with an electrical pulse and then demolish the area afflicted. It'll roast right through 'is immortal hide," Henriette smiled.

"Cool," I smiled, seeing Ruby appear from her area soon after. "Looks like we're gonna be setting off some fireworks. Would you like to take control just to do the dirty, Henriette?" I smiled at her, the pirate lass gasping at that.

"With pleasure, mate!" she laughed heartily, me smirking as I felt her in control of my body, something that I only allowed her to do on rare occasions. Mostly because I was the main one in control.


	13. Fiery Fox and Furious Panda

**Chapter 13**

Once Henriette demolished the roof hatch for us to go forward, she laughed at the destruction, me smiling at her pirate laugh. "That was awesome! Hahar!" Henriette laughed, me then taking control again and Ruby smirking at me as I took control again.

"You let her have fun for a bit, didn't you?" Ruby smiled at me.

"Of course I did. She rarely gets any kind of action, may as well throw the pirate lass a bone every now and then," I smiled at Ruby.

"Thanks, kid, that was awesome," Henriette smiled at me in my head.

"You're welcome, Henriette," I smiled at her as Sly appeared from his area and I then decided to ask.

"Okay, did either of you two get a piece of the book?" I asked them with a smile.

"Actually, I got a page from Sir Augustine of Cooper's technique to briefly defy gravity!" Sly smiled, me smiling widely at that.

"How long would it last with each use?" I smirked in eagerness.

"Roughly 10 seconds at most," Sly smiled, me frowning at the strict time limit, but I still liked the fact that it was a longer amount of time than the games depicted it.

"And I got a couple pages... but they were actually twofold. One was for a man named Conner Cooper... and the other was for **Winnie Cooper**," Ruby said, Sly gasping and getting the pages from Ruby's grasp, me knowing what he was interested at.

"Those are my parents!" Sly gawked as he looked at the pages and saw that they listed tons of stories, but neither of them had any moves to share.

"I just have to read these stories on the way to Clockwerk's area after this adventure is done," Sly said with a smile of happiness.

"Agreed completely. Let's go on to the stronghold proper and find out what to do next," I smiled, leading our trio over to the ceiling hatch and into the next area, me looking to the left and frowning. There were actually two sets of fireworks with a hook on each, but they were both protected by an even larger cage than the other ones and had all 7 locks on it.

"Looks like we'll need to ride these fireworks to the Panda King's statue after we find all 7 of his keys. We only need three more to go, so one of us for each of the remaining areas. I'll go over to this one at the top of the roof. And if you guys happen to spot any kind of high-tech vehicle like the one in your lair, Ruby, we need to get it back to the van after using it. I feel that Bentley will be able to find out Clockwerk's hideout if we get him to analyze it," I smiled at Ruby.

"Leave that to me. I know where Panda King has one of them," Ruby smiled, her going up the slope to the right, making a guard high on ecstasy, and proceeding to show off the blasting vehicle in question before blowing up a door to get into the area with her treasure key. "In the meantime, I'll go to this area here while you go to that area down there, okay?" I smiled at Sly.

"You got it," Sly smiled at me as I went to the area with Carmelita intentionally.

Once I did, I proceeded to go up the place until I got to the area with Carmelita, her aiming her pistol at me and me smiling. "Freeze Ella Unknown!" Carmelita yelled at me.

"There ya go, was that so hard to call me by name?" I smiled at her.

"Shut up, creature! I don't know what you're doing here in China, but I'm sure that it can't be good for whoever owns this place," Carmelita said angrily.

"Oh, you really think the person that owns this place is the pinnacle of a good guy? Me and my gang just witnessed him bury an entire village in an avalanche with a single firework! And yet here you are, trying to arrest me instead of trying to get the bigger evil!" I growled at her, Carmelita frowning at me.

"Don't try to confuse the issue!" Carmelita growled at me.

"I'm not trying to confuse you, I'm trying to tell you how it is! I have yet to kill a single person on my endeavors. All I do is steal back what was stolen from Sly Cooper. You should know too, as you had his case file in the first place! So why are you so obsessed with trying to catch me and Sly when all we're trying to do is get payback on a gang of murderers who took his parents away from him at such a young age?" I asked her, my anger rising, Carmelita frowning and holding her head angrily before she looked at me with a frown.

"You seriously think that I'd listen to you? You're trying to say that a murderer lives here and are trying to deflect blame onto him? Do you have any proof?" Carmelita asked. I smiled and spoke into my Binocucom to contact Ruby.

"Ruby? I need you to share my thoughts with Carmelita. Have her see what the Panda King does in his spare time," I frowned at her, Carmelita not getting it until I started to share the thoughts to her. The Panda King having a hand in killing Sly's parents by ransacking and burning down the house and him shooting a firework directly at the mountain to bury an entire village of snow. When I was finished, Carmelita gasped and shuddered at the sudden mind intrusion.

"Now do you get it, Carmelita? And believe it or not, the leader of the Panda King's gang, the Fiendish Five, has more murders under his belt than any criminal in this entire world bar none. You know him too. Clockwerk," I said, Carmelita gasping at that and shuddering some more.

"I see your point... fine... I'll leave you to your own devices for now. But next we meet, let's make it Clockwerk's lair. Five days, please don't be late," Carmelita frowned.

"But don't you want to stick around to book the Panda King?" I smiled at her.

"After that, yes," she frowned, her then jumping away to the distance, me smiling at how I just got her to let up on me! I then jumped over to the dragon's head and then to the vault at the bottom, as I saw it from the top of the head.

"Okay, the code for that vault is 231," my sis said, me putting in the codes, swiping the page and leaving a single penny, as was my duty. I didn't read it until after I got the key from the dragon's mouth and then warped back to the main area, seeing that Ruby had returned from her area and that she was already on her way back to the van. How did I know? Charred snow all over the ground from where she shot out the plasma blasts.

"So you know, I left the key by the entrance to the area. Go and get it," Ruby smirked at me telepathically.

"Got it," I smirked back at her in thought, going to the key and getting it while examining the page I got from the vault, me smirking as it was Colonel Reid Cooper's Time Stopper. And instead of just freezing time for guards, it froze time for everyone around you for ten seconds! Only downside? It required an hour-long cool down between uses. "Oh yeah! Colonel Reid was my grand pappy! I used his move more than any other move in the book!" Henriette smirked widely.

"Cool," I smiled at her as Sly then emerged from his area by the races and he had the final key.

"Want to use the fireworks to jet up to the Panda King?" I smiled at Sly.

"This is going to be sweet," Sly smiled as we unlocked the gate and then ignited the fireworks before latching onto the hooks, us guiding them to the giant statue before jumping off at the last possible moment, us landing in the arena of the Panda King! And he was currently in the middle with his hand lit with flames.

"I see you carry the canes of notorious Cooper Thief clan... have you come here for revenge? To steal back the Thievius Raccoonus?" Panda King asked, me frowning at him angrily.

"That, and to punish you for the mass murder you just committed for no goddamn reason," I frowned at him.

"Why should you care if I bury a few worthless villages in snow? You are thieves, just like me," Panda King frowned, me putting him in his place.

"Well that's where you're wrong, Panda. I am a thief, and so is Sly. But you? You're just a flat out homicidal maniac that kills without any sense of remorse! And all because you were upset about some rich douches that only saw your clothes instead of your fireworks. Why does it matter to you what a few rich snobs think? All this destruction does nothing but make you look worse!" I growled at him, the Panda King growling as I saw his hands light up again.

"Insolent child! You shall pay dearly for your disrespect! I shall send both of you to your doom with the beauty of my new firework technique, Flame-Fu!" Panda King said, me then activating Time Stopper and rushing up to Panda King, smacking him across the face, his belly, his arms and legs, and of course, down below the belt. I did at least fifty whacks in only 10 seconds and I could tell when I finished that the Panda King was hurting. He could barely move after that and fell to the ground soon after.

"Gugh... your skill with that cane... is unparalleled... aaayauggghhh..." Panda King groaned before falling down, me then seeing the page in his pant pocket, me grabbing it and looking at Sly.

"I believe this belongs to you, partner," I smiled at Sly, him in awe at my skill.

"What just happened?! You just beat him in less than a second!" Sly gawked.

"Actually, I beat him in zero seconds. Thanks to this page from Henriette's granddad, Colonel Reid Cooper, the Time Stopper technique. It lasts for 10 seconds and it freezes time for everyone except the user after using it! The only downside is that it has an hour long cooldown... oh, and Carmelita said she's going to meet up with us to fight with Clockwerk in five days time," I smiled at Sly, Bentley then getting on the horn.

"I did a cross-analysis on that high-tech blasting vehicle that Ruby brought back and it turns out, the metal used in making it can only be found in one place! The Krak-Karov Volcano in Russia! That's GOT to be where we'll find Clockwerk! So get what you came for and let's get out of here!" Bentley said.

"Roger, returning to van as soon as possible," I smiled, grabbing Sly and rushing us out of the complex all the way to the van in style. How was it in style? We rolled the entire way back, as it was a steady descent the whole way down! By the time we got to the bottom, we had actually got so much snow on our electrical barriers that we had to ram into the tree at the base of the mountain to get rid of it all!

"Okay, now THAT was fun!" Sly smiled widely.

"Agreed," I giggled back at him as we then looked at the page from Panda King. "Otto Van Cooper, the inventor of various machines to assist him in his crimes as he himself wasn't the most athletic or fit of the Coopers. He used brains for his heists... oh, and get this! He's actually Bruce's brother!" I smirked at that bit.

"Cool! So they both had the book and added to it at the same time as each other!" Sly smirked.

"Most likely," I smirked back. "And look at these plans! I bet that we could make some seriously kick-ass additions to the van with these designs! What do you think, Murray?" I smiled as I showed him the designs, him smirking at them.

"Leave it to me! I'm great at mechanical work!" Murray smirked as he actually grabbed onto my hand and managed to crush it just a bit, me smirking at his strength.

"You know, I didn't expect you'd be that strong, Murray. You had quite the grip there," I smiled at him, getting his attention. "How about, when this adventure is all done, I train you to be The Murray? Fearless, strong, and able to finish an entire pizza in five minutes?" I smirked at him, Murray smirking at that while Ruby laughed a bit at the last joke.

"That sounds awesome! I approve!" Murray smirked. The deal was struck.


	14. Clockwerk Black and Blue

**Chapter 14:**

Once we returned to our Paris hideout in the train car (and Ruby smiling at the interior of the place) Murray then got to work on adding the turret to the van and the battering ram based on Otto's designs. I helped him out and, after four days, the van was prepared to go off to Russia.

"Okay, it's going to be morning in Russia in roughly two hours and it will take five to get there from here. So let's get going!" Bentley said with enthusiasm.

"Let's go take care of unfinished business," Sly smiles.

"I'll ride there on the blasting vehicle and try to assist with my magic," Ruby smiled.

"The sooner we get done with this, the sooner we can go out for pizza!" Murray smiled happily, as I promised pizza after this adventure, my treat.

"Time to finally defeat the aerial menace that brainwashed me crew all them years ago! Charge!" Henriette exclaimed in my head, making me smile.

"Time to beat this bastard," I sneered as I pointed at Clockwerk's picture in Otto's photo and traced an x shape with my fingers.

* * *

When we finally arrived at Krak-Karov Volcano, I noticed the absence of Carmelita despite the fact she said she'd meet us here. "Hey, Ruby? Do you sense Carmelita nearby?" I asked Ruby as she rode on the plasma shooter. She then closed her eyes and gasped.

"She's inside some strange chamber further in the volcano. I think she may have gotten captured!" Ruby gasped.

"We need to rescue her!" Sly said with seriousness.

"First thing's first, we need to bust through this lock," I smiled, Sly doing just that with his plasma shooter, me smiling at that. We then moved forward and Ruby and Sly started to demolish the different mines in our way, them destroying all of them as we saw Clockwerk's tower in the distance.

"That giant tower is where Clockwerk is hiding out. We're going to need to take the long way around through the rocky crags," Meg said as she looked at a map in the van. Then I saw the giant robot falcons appear.

"First thing's first, we got robo birds incoming!" I said, Sly then proceeding to shoot them out of the sky with dead-on accuracy! We then got forward some more and saw the tower begin to emit giant bursts of powerful electricity!

"That's no tower! It's a giant death ray! Take out those rocks or we're in trouble, guys!" Bentley gasped, me smirking and jumping out of the van and proceeding to do something I've always wanted to do since getting Slaigh's page.

"Banana... SLAMMAH!" I exclaimed, using Slaigh's Bone-Cracker Crush technique to completely obliterate the rock into a billion pieces while also doing a great callback to the Donkey Kong Country cartoon! "That was epic!" I smiled as I hopped back into the van with a giddy smile on my face.

"Did you do that just to show off?" Sly asked with a snicker.

"Um, no doi," I smiled with a laugh.

"That was SOO COOL!" Murray smirked in awe, me smiling at that.

"I'll teach ya how to do that and so much more after this ordeal is done with, Murray," I smiled at him as we then took care of the rest of the demolition of the robo falcons, the mines, and I even did a couple more Banana Slammah's on the gigantic rocks just for good measure (and getting major street credit from that :D)

Sly then had to retreat in the van, the turret getting destroyed in the process as we then entered the room filled with fire slugs. Murray and Ruby then proceeded to get the computers as they fell, them managing to get 40 before the fire slugs even got to 10. It was much easier with two rather than one! And once all 60 were collected, Bentley and Meg hacked into all of them at once and then got the door open in front of us!

"Great job Murray and Ruby! The door is wide open! I'd say it's time for some devious thieving, wouldn't ya say so Sly and Ella?" Bentley smiled at me.

"Ready and raring," I smiled widely, us going into the first room we came across, which was the booby-trapped tiles and our favorite officer on the other side of the area, her trapped in a forcefield in the chamber of gas.

"Damn, looks like the fair fox lass got caught by ol' Clockwerk. Don't be fooled, mates. This is exactly what Clockwerk did to me when I was in me 50's. He tricked me to save a mate o' mine an' then gassed us both to death," Henriette said, me frowning at that, but smiling at the challenge.

"Okay, Sly. I'm going to use defiance of gravity to proceed over and destroy the stuff on the other side. You stay here until I get the security gone. Then I'll proceed to go into the room. I'll do a Banana Slammah to bust out of there and then free Carmelita, got it?" I smiled at Sly.

"Okay, stay safe," Sly smiled. I then winked at him and jumped up high, using defy gravity to glide through the air for at least 5 seconds before landing on the other side of the booby-trapped tiles and proceeding to destroy the dart shooters and the alarm, allowing us entry to the gas chambers. I then proceeded in and heard the door shut behind me, Carmelita looking at me with a frown.

"I should've known you were behind this," Carmelita frowned at me.

"Oh really? If I were behind this, would I do this? BANANA... SLLLAAAMMMAAAHHH!" I exclaimed, punching the glass behind me with maximum strength, the glass shattering at least two seconds afterwards, the gas proceeding to come in through the vents, but it not doing anything to us as it escaped through the opening just as Clockwerk's visage appeared on the screen.

"Hahaha... wait... did you just thwart my plans?... I see how it is, inter-dimensional traveler... well played," Clockwerk frowned at me with his robotic voice, Carmelita gasping at that and looking at me with a frown.

"Sly? Time to bust this cop out of her prison," I smiled, him doing so by smashing apart the base of the forcefield, Carmelita then busting a hole out the back and us following after her. We then looked at each other in the next area and Carmelita frowned at us.

"I don't get it. I've hunted you for years, Cooper, try to put you behind bars, but then when you get a chance to put me in a cage, you set me free. Why?" Carmelita asked, me frowning at that.

"Okay, I'm going to say it right now. We only just arrived ourselves like 30 minutes ago, so we couldn't have been the ones to catch you. Now, the giant homicidal robotic owl that tried to trick us into a gas chamber to kill us. That guy's on our list. And besides, if we're going to take him out, we need your help," I said, Carmelita frowning at that.

"I see your point... alright. Until Clockwerk and his schemes are foiled, I suggest we work together," Carmelita said.

"Together at last!" Sly smiled, a robot falcon appearing from above and me simply knocking it out of the sky with another punch directly to its body, the falcon falling into the lava soon after.

"And, just for the heck of it... Banana Slammah," I smiled widely, Carmelita smirking at that.

"Now, keep in mind, this truce is only temporary. Once Clockwerk is finished, I'm coming after you," Carmelita frowned.

"Really?" Sly smiled.

"Well... maybe a ten second head start would be fine," Carmelita smiled.

"Fine with me," I smiled as Sly and I looked at the area ahead of us.

"So how are we going to face Clockwerk anyways?" I asked.

"I stashed my jet pack at the top of Clockwerk's death ray before he nabbed me. You'll need to make your way there through this area. I'll cover your entry from here," Carmelita said.

"Happily appreciated," Sly smiled as we then proceeded down the area, Carmelita handling the fire slugs as Sly and I moved up the area bit by bit, the place feeling much hotter than I expected, especially when next to the lava monsters! After roughly ten minutes of running up and after a lot of damage to the area, Sly and I then got to the other end and saw the jet pack at the top of the Death Ray via our Binocucoms.

"There's the jet pack right where Carmelita said it'd be! But how are you going to be able to fight Clockwerk, Ella?" Meg asked me.

"No issues there, I'll just sit it out near that bridge over there. You can handle it from your end, but I'll finish the job once you get Clockwerk grounded, okay partner?" I smiled at Sly.

"Sure thing," Sly smiled at me.

"But you better hurry! The stabilizers for the Death Ray got destroyed on your way there from Carmelita's blasts. You gotta book it to that jet pack before this tower starts to fall apart!" Bentley said, Sly then proceeding to the Death Ray while I used defy gravity to make my way over to the bridge, it ending just as I reached it.

"Whew," I said with a smile and a puff of relief. I then watched Sly have a few close calls on the climb up the giant Death Ray until he finally got the jet pack, strapped it on, and ignited the thrusters to get off the thing... and after he flew off, I saw a giant shadow pass over me and head over to Sly!

"SLY! BEHIND YOU!" I exclaimed at Sly, him turning around just in time to dodge the talons of Clockwerk!

"Sly Cooper, you have thwarted my plans and destroyed my death ray... remarkable... you Coopers always find a way to beat me," Clockwerk frowned, me then throwing a rock at his giant metallic body from my standpoint, getting his attention away from Sly.

"I WAS THE ONE TO DESTROY THE GAS CHAMBER, ASSHOLE!" I exclaimed at him, Clockwerk sighing at that and turning back at Sly.

"How old are you?" Sly asked.

"Perfection has no age," Clockwerk frowned.

"What? You're immortal?" Sly asked.

"Revenge is the prime ingredient in the fountain of youth. I've kept myself alive for thousands of years with a steady diet of jealousy and hate awaiting the day I'd finally eclipse your family's thieving reputat... huh?" Clockwerk asked in a confused fashion before I saw something come from across the lava and begin to attack him. Ruby!

"Take this, murderer!" Ruby exclaimed as she sent numerous plasma blaster shots at Clockwerk, the damage to his body actually being quite large!

"Way to go, Ruby! Carmelita? Help Sly with electricity!" I said into the radio feature of the Binocucom.

"Got it!" she yelled as she sent an electric blast at Clockwerk's left wing and Sly then shot at it with the rockets of the jet pack, Clockwerk then spiraling into the lava.

"Nice going, guys! You got him!" Bentley smirked before Clockwerk used his booster feet feature to get out of the lava. "Wow, that's one tough owl!" Bentley gawked afterwards, Sly speaking again as I saw the two of them were much closer to me now.

"I don't get it, you're so obsessed with my family, you must have known my parents had a son. If you hated the Coopers so much, why did you let me live when you stole the Thievius Raccoonus?" Sly asked in utter confusion as I climbed my way over some rocks to get closer to where the duo was at.

"Because I wanted to show the world that without your precious book, the Cooper line was nothing!" Clockwerk frowned monotonously. I was only mere yards away from them as Sly then spoke again.

"You're wrong. The Thievius Raccoonus doesn't create great thieves. It takes great thieves to create the Thievius Raccoonus!" Sly smirked, me then leaping with a powerful jump and landing right on Clockwerk's back and executing numerous rolls of electrical energy across his back, Clockwerk shrieking in agony as Sly and Ruby started to pelt him with bullets of plasma and rockets, me jumping off before they could hit me, back on solid ground.

After that escapade, Clockwerk fell into the lava and I smiled widely at how his body was at a perfect position to jump on from my position. I leaped into the air and landed right on Clockwerk's back before whacking at his head numerous times while he back-talked me!

"Cooper! You will never be rid of me!... Clockwerk... iizzz... superioooooorrrr... bzrt..." Clockwerk groaned the last words as I finally dealt the finishing blow and his whole body started to glow hot, me using defy gravity to make it back to the bridge just as Clockwerk's body exploded!

We then started to search for the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus that Clockwerk had and found them in a large safe opened via rotation lock. And inside we found not one, not two, but SIXTEEN pages of the book!

"The full Thievius Raccoonus... the last I held this book, I was only 7 years old..." Sly smiled.

"Great job, mate! Ye finally get to inherit the family book!" Henriette smiled from my head.

"No, he didn't inherit it, hon. Sly freaking earned it!" I smiled, Sly smiling happily at that... but then came in Carmelita, her smiling a smug smile while holding the handcuffs in her hand.

"You still want that ten second head start?" she smiled at us.

"Sure enough," I smiled as Sly and I stood there, slowly inching closer as the seconds passed by until Sly went for it. He kissed Carmelita on the lips, me then locking her hand to the bridge and putting the key in her pocket, me then using Time Stopper and rushing Sly, myself, and Ruby to the van to make our exit.

"See ya, Carmelita! We'll send you a gift basket!" I smiled at her as we then drove away, her scream of anger happening shortly after.

"You left her with the key, right?" Meg smiled at me.

"No duh. It's not like I'm going to lock her to a volcano right next to boiling lava," I smiled at her.

"But were you serious about the gift basket?" Sly asked with a smile.

"She deserves some kind of reward for helping us, right?" I smiled at Sly, him smirking and nodding at that. "But first order of business, let's go get some lunch from a fancy pizza place. I'm starving!" I smiled.

"Same here," Ruby and Murray both said at the same time.


	15. A Museum Heist For Body Parts in Cairo

**Chapter 15**

For those wondering, the pizza we ate was the most delicious I'd ever ate in my entire life! It was super sweet and the crust was stuffed with cheddar cheese and the sauce was super sweet! And the agreement was across the entire table, all of us loving the taste of the delicious, fattening food! We also then got a gift basket filled with tons of chocolate, a couple of items we had stolen from small crime rings (such as gold necklaces and a gold trophy) and we left the basket right in front of Carmelita's office door soon after, her actually inside of it and about to arrest us... but changed her mind when she saw the stuff we gave her. I mean, the basket was about as big as Ruby!

"I-Is this for... me?" Carmelita asked with blush on her orange fur.

"It's to thank you for helping us out with Clockwerk and for not arresting me in China," I smiled at her, Carmelita smiling and taking the basket.

"You know what, Ella Unknown? You're alright," Carmelita smiled at me, which made me blush in embarrassment. "As for the ringtail... well, I'll let you go this time, but next we meet, I'll give you the chase of a lifetime," Carmelita smiled at Sly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Sly smiled in his suave nature.

"Yay! You two are made for each other," Ruby said happily, Carmelita gasping and immediately taking the basket and locking herself in her office afterwards, me smirking at Ruby smiling and how Sly was blushing too.

"Okay, Ruby, that was good," I smiled at her as I then had us leave out the window and to the hideout, me smirking at the gang and how we now were having some downtime... for at least 2 years.

* * *

The two years were spent doing just a bunch of small jobs, but it also cemented the reality for both myself and my sister. Either we were in a coma for that long without being allowed to get our plugs pulled... or we really had been warped to this world from our own via television.

"I still can't believe this has happened, Ella... I want to go home," Meg said to me with a sigh of sadness.

"I want to go home too, Meg... but we have to face the facts... there's no way home, at least none that we know of... so we're stuck here for the rest of our lives... and we're going to have to find some way to continue as our race... we just might have to... you know," I sighed, Meg stiffening at that.

"No, I'm not like you. I'm not a furry," Meg said with a huff in her voice and on her face.

"It's either one of the animal people in this world, or me. And last I checked, we can't make babies together," I frowned at Meg, her sighing angrily.

"I really hate it when you're right, you know?... But yeah... how am I going to decide who to be with? We live with thieves, after all," Meg frowned.

"Well, we always could find someone during our adventures. Even if it's someone that isn't supposed to be there, we could find someone, right?" I asked her, Meg groaning at that. "I know what you're thinking, Meg. But think of everything that's gone wrong so far. Raleigh and Clockwerk knew who I was and how I got here, Ruby is now a child and on our side, and the fact that we're here is also different. I'm positive that more things will go wrong in the future, no matter how well-prepared we think we are," I sighed.

Meg sighed and mulled over for a good few minutes before finally sighing. "Just... Just promise me that you won't go for any ugly ones and don't choose any of the main trio?" Meg asked, me smiling at her.

"No duh," I said to her.

"Wow... so it's that deep, huh? I guess me appearing because of that gator girl's magic was also not according to plan?" Henriette asked in my head.

"You're dead on accurate, Henriette..." I sighed at her sadly.

And then we learned of something from Bentley. The Clockwerk parts were being stored in a museum in Cairo, heavily guarded by officers because of what they were. "We need to get those Clockwerk parts back and destroy that giant bird once and for all! I can't believe that his body parts survived in molten fucking lava!" Henriette exclaimed in anger.

"Right, let's warm up the van and get on our way," Sly said, me smiling at Murray's next line.

"The Murray is ready and raring!" he said, me smirking at him. He was now every bit his incarnation to the 2nd game thanks to me training him, particularly in the special move of the Thunder Flop and his very own version of the Banana Slammah that he called the HIPPOW smash. Of course, we all knew it was just my joke name for what it was really called by Slaigh MacCooper, but our names were WAY funnier!

We then moved out to the museum and took up our positions with Sly and myself in the area with the giant skeletons, my sister waiting in the van for a quick exit, Bentley being the hacker, and Murray being the muscle. Oh, and Ruby? She got the fun job of making the guards high on ecstasy when needed.

"Breaker Alpha Foxtrot, this is the Wizard. Do you read me, Sitting Duck and Unknown?" Bentley asked.

"This is Peking Duck, I hear you, Blizzard," Sly joked, Bentley getting hostile at that.

"No, Sly, I'm the Wizard. And you're Sitting Duck," Bentley said, more firm in his speak, me deciding to be serious instead.

"This is Unknown assailant. What's your status, Wizard?" I asked him, Sly smirking at me and how I was talking to Bentley in the lingo like he wanted.

"I've established myself in the basement and I'm pretty sure I can rewire the surface elevator if you can power it up from the security station," Bentley said as Ella gave us the waypoint.

"Hang tough, pal, we're coming to give that elevator some orange juice," I said, leading the way to the area with the elevator with Sly right behind me. And to be honest, walking on top of a giant fossil hung in a museum? It was awesome! I then turned on the power and Bentley spoke again.

"Okay, I splice the wires... ow!... Hold on... there it is!" Bentley said as he appeared from the elevator and I held up a sign next to his face, Sly smiling and chuckling at it. It said. "Bentley, the Brains." "Okay, enough horsing around, let me at that security computer," Bentley said, him proceeding to the computer and beginning to hack at it, the lights going off first, then the lasers, and finally the gate opened. "Presto, all clear," Bentley said.

"Thanks, pal. For your first time out, you did pretty well," Sly smiled.

"Oh, this operation is FAR from complete! Now that the lasers and spotlights are offline, Murray should be moving into position for your rendezvous. I'll stay and provide computer support while you go on ahead... oh, and as for Ruby, tell her to meet up with you at the holding area for the Clockwerk parts," Bentley said.

"You got it," I smiled, then thinking the thoughts to Ruby and her smiling at me.

"Roger that, friend, I'm en route to the storage area by the garden," Ruby smiled, me then going with Sly through the next part of the museum as Bentley started to talk into the PA system to confuse them.

"Uh... Attention all guards. This is the network administrator. We're installing some new software into the security mainframe. Now, don't be alarmed, but the system's going to be turned off for awhile... uh... thank you, you're all supreme. Great job," Bentley said, me smirking at him and how the guards just shrugged it off like it was nothing. Sly and I then got to the balcony and Bentley got in our Binocucoms again.

"According to my scanners, the Clockwerk parts are being stored up there," Bentley said, pinging our Binocucoms to the room that Ruby was standing next to. "Now to get access, you'll need to meet up with Murray at the rendezvous point. Ruby? You think you can distract the guards with your powers?" Bentley asked my friend.

"That I can," Ruby smiled as she then looked at the guards in the garden and made them high again, me smirking at this and proceeding with Sly through the garden until we reached the rendezvous via a pipe we climbed up. And Murray wasn't around.

"Murray must've gotten lost along the way. Try pressing on ahead without him," Bentley said. And not five seconds after that?

"THUNDER FLOP!" Murray yelled as he appeared from the skylight and completely trashed the interior of the room! But I did make sure to put up a sign next to him that he laughed at a little bit. "Murray, the Brawn."

"Greetings citizens. I hope you weren't harmed by my meteoropic entrance," Murray smiled.

"No, Murray, we kept at a safe distance," Sly smiled.

"Good, good. The Thunder Flop knows neither friend nor foe. Only destruction!" Murray smiled widely.

"Okay, big guy, think you can handle getting this gate lifted up for us?" I smiled at him.

"Of course! It is nothing before The Murray!" he said enthusiastically before going over to the gate and using his newfound strength to lift it up. And he looked to not have broken a sweat one bit! "Okay, all clear," Murray said as we then went through and Murray then followed us after, Ruby looking at us with a smile from her position and moving out of the way of the iron bars. "Another barrier stands before you. Fear not, I shall bend it like the truth!" Murray said as he picked up a solid stone statue and threw it at the barricade with such force, it completely demolished the gate in one go!

"Whoo! The Murray is awesome!" Ruby smirked with a wide smile and a giggle. I then saw the rope and Murray frowned.

"My hulking frame is too much for that puny rope. You go ahead and unlock the doors from the inside, I'll be waiting in the hallways to help you carry out the Clockwerk parts," Murray said, me and sly then doing the rail walk across the rope and then getting to the area with Ruby, the parts all completely gone, which Bentley looked shock at, as did Henriette and Ruby.

"W-Where is barn owl's parts?! Where'd they go?!" Henriette asked in shock.

"This is all wrong! We need to pull the plug on this operation right now!" Bentley yelled, me then seeing Carmelita and the bitch herself emerge from the sarcophagi in front of us.

"Freeze, Cooper and Ella Unknown... and... um... Ruby, right?" Carmelita asked, me smiling at that.

"Right," Ruby frowned.

"Inspector Fox. As beautiful and unpredictable as ever," Sly smiled.

"Whereas you crooks are SO predictable. You always return to the scene of the crime," Carmelita frowned.

"Crime? We haven't done nothin'! If anything, we just arrived tryin' to find the parts of old barn owl, but here we are and there are NO PARTS!" Henriette said in my head, Carmelita raising an eyebrow before she spoke again.

"Because you already stole the parts, right?" Carmelita frowned.

"Someone already stole the parts?!" Ruby asked in shock.

"Don't play dumb with me," Carmelita frowned. Then the bitch spoke.

"It might not have been them, Carmelita. The method of entry and guard casualties all point to this being a Klaww Gang job," Neyla said, me frowning at her as she and Carmelita then started to argue.

"Let's flee. Invisible time," I smiled, Ruby smirking and doing the same as she had also read the page along with us. We then managed to get to the areas with Murray and Bentley before we got Carmelita chasing after us, me smirking at how long it took her to realize it!

"Get back here, you cheaters!" Carmelita yelled, me smirking at that name as she proceeded to shoot numerous electric blasts at us. We then got over to the end of the place and I looked at the trio of The Brains, The Brawn, and The Mystic.

"Get to the van, we'll handle Carmelita," I said to them.

"You're all going to jail!" Carmelita yelled.

"Pick us up at the rendezvous point," Sly said, the trio leaving through the door as we busted through the window and proceeded to begin running across the rooftops as the cop cars simply stayed in place, me smiling at how the cops stayed in place while the van went around them, Carmelita confused at that and me smiling as we ran across the rooftops until we got to the van and got inside it, us entering the trunk and going off to the distance.

"I'll find you, Cooper! And you too, Ella Unknown!" Carmelita yelled at us, me smiling as she tried to bust through a fence to chase us, but fell tits first and then yelled angrily as we drove off.

"Okay, now to do some digging. Both on Carmelita's new partner and what she said. You heard her, right? The Klaww Gang... who are they and why would she tell us about them?" I asked, my sister already doing some digging into the internet and finding information about both.

"I found out information about Neyla... she was apparently hired at Interpol after they were impressed with her skills of manipulation when she was able to get others to do her university work while she did nothing. They were so impressed, they gave her a position as an Interpol officer with the hopes that she'd be able to trick the thieves into a false sense of security... so in a sense, she's a con artist and a corrupt cop at the same time," Meg said.

"Interesting," Ruby frowned as Bentley then got information about the Klaww gang.

"Okay, the Klaww gang is run by different members from different nationalities. And one of them lives in Paris! His name is Dimitri, and he runs a nightclub on the west side," Bentley said. "And his information on Thiefnet says that he's recently acquired a new set of printing plates... and they're shaped like tail feathers."

"Looks like she did give us a clue after all. Time to head out to Paris to find Dimitri's nightclub and have some fun robbing him," I smiled.

"Aye! Time to find the parts of Clockwerk and destroy them once and forever!" Henriette said in my head.


	16. Wine Cellar Recon

**Chapter 16**

Once we set up the Safehouse in the house with the big antenna, Sly and I then left the place and were given different jobs. I was to go take the recon photos while Sly redirected the satellites around town to the antenna. "Proceeding to the wine cellar as of now," I smiled as I entered the door and saw Murray waiting for me.

"Bentley said you'd need some help getting into the cellar because of some bars blocking the entrance, so that's why I'm here," Murray smiled.

"Time for The Murray and Ella Unknown to work their magic, then," I smiled as we then got to the rats and I knocked them all out without once getting seen! Invisibility was sweet! Murray then lowered the bars so I could move on and after thanking him, I proceeded through and was about to go through the lasers while invisible before Bentley stopped me.

"Hold on, Ella! Those lasers appear to be heat sensing lasers. Invisibility won't work on them," Bentley warned, me breathing a sigh after that.

"Hoo... thanks for the warning, Bentley," I said after that as I then started crawling under the tables until I got to the flashlight guards. When I saw them, I used invisibility again and knocked them out with a swift slam move for each, stealing their wallets and anything they carried, including a gold watch, jeweled rings, and even a cute doll that I didn't know what it was... it looked familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"Hey, Henriette? Are you able to smell things better than I can?" I asked my head friend.

"Aye, that I can. Sniff it an' I tell ye if it belongs to someone, Henriette said. I then smelled it and Henriette snickered. "I smell the Constable's furry hands have been all over this doll. It belongs to Neyla for sure," Henriette smiled as I entered the nightclub through the vent, which I was surprised I was able to get through no problem.

I then got questions from Bentley as I moved through the nightclub to the next air vent. "Wait... if Neyla's doll was on that one guard, then that means Neyla must be somewhere nearby and that the guard probably stole it while she wasn't looking," Bentley said.

"Maybe," I smiled, now knowing I had some serious dirt on her. I then found the next air vent and crawled through it until I reached the drop into the printing press room, where I opened my Binocucom by the windows and saw the area in full detail. It looked much more rustic and much louder than I expected. Half the noise was from the music above in the nightclub and the other half was the generator and the money machine.

"I outfitted your Binocucom to take photographic images. Take a few photos of anything of interest and then I'll warp you back to the entrance to the wine cellar," Bentley said, me smiling at that. At least I had an easy way out of these situations now! I proceeded to take the photos I needed to. One of Dimitri, one of the generator, and one of the tail feathers.

"That freaky lizard man is making unlimited illegal cash with those tail feathers? What kind of sick nonsense is that?! Thieves should earn their gold, not cheat their way to riches!" Henriette said angrily after we got out of the cellar and on our way to the Safehouse.

"Yeah, forging money is not only dishonorable, but it's also cheating through life. But like the old saying goes, cheaters never win," I said with a frown. As we returned to the building and we got treated to a slideshow.

"The recon photos are a grim reminder of what the modern thief is up against. Spotlights, stepped up patrols... the sum of it all renders a direct assault impossible," Bentley frowned as he circled the peacock sign and scribbled through it. "We're going to need more information," Bentley frowned as my sister then spoke.

"I've got a bugged painting that we'll need to swap out with the one Dimitri has in his office. That way we can listen in on whatever he says... and I also got an email interception. Go to the boat by the docks and ring the boat's bell. The email said to ring when the coast is clear, but for what I don't know," Meg said.

"I think I'lol handle bugging his office," I smiled.

"And I think I can handle that boat job," Ruby smiled.


	17. Ratting Out a Cat

**Chapter 17**

Once the others were done with the first set of jobs and after I got the bug in Dimitri's office, we then returned to the hideout and Bentley gave us another slideshow.

"Alright, we'll need to pull off a few more jobs before we get to robbing the tail feathers. First, Sly will pickpocket some keys from guards in the nightclub in order to insert a splice clip into some spotlights. If all goes as planned, we'll be able to turn off all the security to the printing press room. Next, Murray and Ruby will go and take out the exterior alarm horns. We don't want anything to alert the guards while we pull of the heist... and finally, we're going to need to find a way into the disco tech to drop a giant mirror ball... trust me, it's all part of the plan," Bentley said as Sly was about to raise his hand.

"And in the meantime, I think I'm going to go out and explore a bit. Maybe steal some smaller stuff from the guards's pockets," I smiled widely, making sure I kept the doll on my person as I then went out the door and towards the area where Neyla was. And I actually saw her on the rooftop, me looking up there and motioning for her, Neyla confused but revealing herself as she jumped from the standpoint with a serious look on her face.

"Halt, Unknown," Neyla said, me smiling at her.

"You know that's not really my last name, right? By the way, I found something that I think may belong to you," I said, bringing out the doll and Neyla gasping at the sight.

"M-My baby! Where'd you find it?!" Neyla gasped as she was about to grab it before I yanked it away, turning off the connections on my Binocucom before I spoke again.

"Ah, ah, ah. I managed to find it in Dimitri's nightclub. On one of his guards," I said, smiling as I looked at her and she looked at me with a gaze of uncertainty. "Now how would your doll have ended up in an area such as that and on one of Dimitri's guards?... Unless you were previously in there for some unknown reason?" I smiled, Neyla stammering slightly and me then dropping the bomb. "I know all about you being hired as a corrupt cop, Neyla. And honestly, I don't trust you as far as I can throw you. And judging by how I found this doll of yours in Dimitri's nightclub, I'd say I have some evidence about what you really do behind the scenes," I smiled at her, Neyla gasping and snatching the doll away from me faster than I could blink.

She then tried to talk, but her mouth was tongue tied. "Tell it to me straight, Neyla. Who are you really aligned with? And why give us the name of the Klaww Gang back in Cairo when you had recently been to one of the Klaww Gang's hideouts?" I asked her, Neyla sighing and looking around frantically before looking me square in the eyes.

"Okay, fine. I'll tell you, but you need to promise me to keep it a secret, right?" she asked, this time in her cockney accent. Her real accent.

"I'm all ears. And so you know, my connections on my Binocucom are off for now, so it's just you, me, and the voice in my head," I smiled, thinking to Henriette to keep quiet and her agreeing silently.

"Awright... I'm in with the Klaww Gang and I was hired by Arpeggio to help you lot out from job to job until he gave me permission to toss you all in jail. It's my job to steal back the Clockwerk parts from the other Klaww Gang members so he can rebuild the old owl for immortality. And that's all I'm gonna mention," Neyla said, me frowning and shaking my head at that.

"You know, Neyla, if he were to rebuild Clockwerk and become the giant bird, he's just going to become Clockwerk. Arpeggio will be no more, as his mind and body would be filled with nothing but hatred. He may just up and kill anything he sees if that happens! It's crucial that Clockwerk's body is destroyed, not rebuilt and reused," I said, Neyla frowning at me.

"And how would you know that much?" Neyla asked, my mind then talking to her.

"Because back durin' me youth in 1619, I defeated Clockwerk in a fight to the death... then, 20 years later, one o' me mates back-stabbed me an' tried to go into Clockwerk to become more powerful... I died the day that happened along with the rest of me crew," Henriette said, Neyla gasping and looking around for the third person who spoke and me smiling at how she saw no one.

"W-Who just spoke?" Neyla asked.

"The voice in my head, Henriette 'One Eye' Cooper... if you're wondering how she got in my brain as a second personality... it's a long story, but Ruby joined our team in Haiti and during our vacation, Henriette's spirit tried to merge with Ruby before I told her to merge with me. Ever since, she's been in my head and giving her two-sense to anyone unless I say otherwise. Believe me when I say we won't rat you out. But also believe me when I say that merging with Clockwerk is just going to net with you going insane and killing anything you see," I frowned at her, Neyla then laughing at me as I saw something in her pocket. The key to the back door of the night club.

"You think I'd be fooled by your tricks, Ella? Hah! Arpeggio's the smartest man in the world with an IQ of 1000! He knows more about Clockwerk than anyone in the world and his plan is foolproof! You can't trick me with your stupid mumbo-jumbo nonsense about a past Cooper living in your brain. I know a ventriloquist when I see one, HAH!" Neyla laughed, me taking the opportunity to go invisible and steal her key, Neyla none the wiser as she didn't feel it from the laughing and I had managed to get it in no time flat. "Anyways, don't you dare rat me out, or I'm going to make you and your gang into prisoners the next we meet," Neyla said, her then jumping into a warping hole and warping away, me smiling as I held her key in my grasp and then turning on the communications again.

"Hey, Bentley? I got a key to the back door, which leads to the disco ball you mentioned and also returned Neyla's doll to her," I smiled as I then made my way back to the hideout.

"Really? Well, it looks like I'm gonna have to go get in the field. I should be all geared up by the time you get back," Bentley said, me smiling to Henriette in thought. 'I can't believe we actually got some legit dirt on Neyla!' I thought to Henriette, her snickering at that. 'Aye, now we can get her arrest on miss Fox be on her instead!' Henriette smirked at me, which I smiled at as we made it back to the Safehouse and waited there until everyone returned and after feeling a small shock wave from the disco ball falling! And I also saw at least 50 bolts fly off the peacock sign all at once, it actually only hanging on by the bottom few bolts!

Once Bentley returned from the disco tech, he then went over the slideshow. "Alright, we've all got the setup complete. Now to pull of the big heist. I call it, Operation: Thunder Beak. First, Murray and I will make our way to the old water tower and do some deviousness in there. I'll turn off the water to the plaza fountain. Once that's accomplished, they're sure to send someone out to get to the repair truck. Sly will then steal his keys and he'll join up with us in the plaza to make the exchange to meet up with Ruby and Ella. They'll go steal the truck while Sly climbs to the top of the peacock sign. Once there, Ella and Ruby will shoot the truck's grapple hook up to Sly and we'll use it to pull down the sign... if my calculations are correct, the impact should create a large enough opening to the printing press room. Then Sly, Ella, and Ruby will jump in, grab the Clockwerk Tail feathers, and we all get the heck out of here," Bentley said, me smiling at my sister and her smirking widely.

"If you're wondering why I'm not in the heist, sis, it's because I don't want to get any dirt on my hands. I'm not committing any crimes so there's no way that I can get arrested for anything," Ella smiled.

"Smart thinking, sis," I smiled at her as we then went out to do our jobs. Murray and Bentley went first while Sly, Ruby, and myself waited for the fountain to turn off.

"The fountain's run dry and buff repairman has emerged from the nightclub. Proceeding to relieve him of his possessions," I smiled, Sly jumping from the rooftops and getting the keys from the guy quite easily. Once accomplished, he returned to us and gave us the key, me leading Ruby to the repair truck and me then turning the ignition and seeing it was stick shift, just like the game. "Good thing I mainly used stick shifts back home," I smiled as I then drove the truck to the plaza so it'd be in the road leading to the front of the sign.

"I'm in position," Sly said.

"Get ready, Sly. Aim... FIRE!" I smirked, shooting the hook up to him and Sly catching it on the first try!

"Hook's on, pull away!" Sly said just as Bentley and Murray came back.

"Uh, guys? We got bogeys coming in from all angles! Take them out!" I said, Ruby assisting a bit... or she tried to, but she cursed angrily afterwards.

"Dammit! This truck's made of copper! My powers can't go through copper!" Ruby groaned, me smiling at that as I just continued to winch the sign down while the others handled the guards. And then, after five minutes of pulling, the sign finally began to tip... and then, jackpot! The sign fell beak-first into the fountain and demolished it in one go!

"Behold the majesty of gravity and inertia!" Bentley said as I got out of the truck with Ruby, all the guards knocked unconscious and on the ground in a pile.

"That was real subtle, Bentley," Sly said, me smirking at that.

"Okay, guys. Go get those tail feathers and we're out of here!" Bentley said, Sly then jumping into the hole, followed by me and finally Ruby. And when we landed on the ground, we then jumped up to the tail feather machine and saw Dimitri right next to it and looking quite angry.

"Gagh! So, Raccoonus Doodus, mystery girl, and Gator Girl! You are like totally bumming my house up and bringing me down! So very uncool. Why can't you let birds and bees be free, bros?" Dimitri asked, me frowning at him and shaking my head.

"Listen, Dimitri, these tail feather printing plates of yours? They are part of an even greater scheme that you have no idea about. It's not only going to bring your house down, but the entire world down with it," I frowned at him, the others being confused at that and me smirking. I wasn't going to rat out Neyla, not yet. But I was going to share what she did tell me. About Arpeggio's secret plans.

"What smack are you speaking of, mystery lady?" Dimitri asked.

"Your boss, Arpeggio? He's having all the members of the Klaww gang use the Clockwerk parts for a scheme for him to turn into Clockwerk! And once that happens, he's going to become the monster that Clockwerk was, only worse, as his hate will be fueled by the entire world, not just on Coopers. So just hand over the tail feathers. We don't have to fight, we just need to destroy the parts before Arpeggio destroys the world," I said, Dimitri looking at me in confusion, but finally gawking at me.

"Wait... so... you mean, all them spicy treats I gave my party guests... uh-oh... t-this ain't good!" Dimitri gawked as he then turned around and proceeded to turn off the printing press, giving us the tail feathers without a hassle.

"Go get out of my club! I'll take the fall with the greasy sweet cracker cops! The lights may burn out on my disco club, but Dimitri will have the final jib jab at tiny bird! Haha!" Dimitri said, Sly not getting it, but me smiling at how Carmelita soon busted through the walls with a cop car along with Neyla, me then looking at Sly and Ruby.

"Daring escape time. Good luck, Dimitri. Those girls don't play nice," I said to him as I rushed Sly and Ruby out of the hole with defy gravity and we all hopped in the van and made our quick escape soon after, the others wondering what the heck I was talking about and me finally spilling the beans.

"If you recall, Bentley, I had the communicator turned off during my spare time while we were doing the last few jobs?" I smiled at him, Bentley nodding at that. "Well, I found Neyla and I got some great information out of her about the Klaww Gang. She knows of the plan that they're leader is making with all the Clockwerk parts. The ultimate goal of it is to get Clockwerk completely reassembled so Arpeggio can take control of the body of the robot owl. He then wants to use some kind of spice to fuel Clockwerk's immortality so he can live forever... but here's the thing. He's going to try using normal people's hate to fuel Clockwerk's hatred. So when that happens, he'll not only be after Coopers. If Clockwerk is revived with Arpeggio's plan, then he will target every single person in the entire world. We need to get all the Clockwerk parts before Arpeggio can. And Dimitri's night club was an integral part in this scheme," I said, Sly then asking a question.

"Why's the night club so important?" Sly asked.

"Didn't ya hear what he said mate? He was feeding some strange spices to the customers of his night club. And lady luck be with us, cause I got a sniff of that spice myself with me captain's nose. An' she's smelled it before. It's a spice that only grows in India. If ye eat too much of it, you'll enter a fit of uncontrolled rage and hate. This is what Arpeggio plans to use in order for Clockwerk to be revived," Henriette said, Ruby gawking at that.

"Wait... you don't mean the Raging Rosetrum, do you? Those spices are sold as illegal drugs! It's fine in small doses for highs, but too much will make you angry and hostile to the point that your muscles buff up and you gain strength unrivaled. This spice has killed more cops than it has regular users, just from the anger it induces!" Ruby said with fear in her voice.

"Then it looks like we're going to need to stay on our toes. Any ideas on where the next target is, Bentley?" I asked him, Bentley looking at the computer and finding the data on Rajan in India.

"I've found information on the main distributor of the spice, Lord Rajan of India. He's a self-made man who earned his living through growing and selling illegal spices and convincing many others that he's of royal status while also being a member of the Klaww Gang... he's holding a lavish ball at his newly pruchased Ancestral Palace in 8 days. And all to present his latest acquisition... the Clockwerk Wings," Bentley gulped, me frowning at that as Henriette gasped.

"Rgh... the first I saw them wings of Clockwerk, it was the most frightening sight of anything my eye did see. Me entire crew were unable to do anything for hours after being caught in his stare... but those wings... never saw a scarier sight than seeing the shadows of those giant flappers looming over the horizon day and night," Henriette said with a shudder.


	18. Butterfly Hunk and Neyla's True Feelings

**Chapter 18**

We decided to spend our vacation in Monaco until the job in India, where we had some fun at different casinos and restaurants, managing to steal from the house via Ruby using her powers on the slot machines to make us win big. Meanwhile, Bentley got some good funds with his new card counting formula at the poker tables. We made great dough from the place, more than enough to buy some upgrades to our equipment. I got a special magnet that could be considered an advancement of the Coin Magnet technique by Karin Coopergiwa. I could now steal anything in the guards' pockets all at once without any resistance with the only issue being that they'd feel all of it leave their pockets, meaning I'd need to stay invisible while using it.

After 8 days, we finally arrived at the area with the palace and parked our van just outside of the closed up drawbridge. We then decided that I would go take the recon photos, me needing to us the ninja spire jump on the pointy rocks to make my way to the other side of the giant wall. It was cake and I even managed to steal a flashlight guard's gold medal in the process! I stayed invisible and then moved on my way to the forested area by the ballroom as Meg got in my Binocucom.

"Okay, Ella. There should be a secret entrance to the ballroom on that balcony up there. Take the recon photos, but be careful not to get spotted, okay?" Meg smiled at me.

"You got it, sis," I smiled as I simply leaped from my standing point the whole way to the balcony and then carefully opened the door, closing it without a sound once inside. I then got to the balcony, but made sure I was invisible as I started to take the pictures from my position. I took a photo of Rajan, the winch above the ballroom, and both wings, as both of them were as large as the statue in front of us and welded onto it.

"May as well get a few shots of the guests. Find out who's at this party," Bentley smiled at me, which I happily obliged to. I took a photo of Arpeggio and Jean Bison first, but then I got some feedback from Bentley at the next few. "The Contessa?... Carmelita?... Neyla?! Watch yourself, Ella. This party is crawling with undercover cops!" Bentley said, me smirking and then looking at one of the random guests in confusion. He... he looked like he was also an undercover cop and that he was dressed in a fancy suit, yet he was something that I didn't expect would look so... well, sexy. He was, get this, a butterfly! How did I know he was a butterfly? He had four arms and two legs, had two antenna on his head, and he had beautiful wings coming out of his back. His eyes, thankfully, were regular sized and were human eyes, but he did have a long, curled up nose above his mouth. Honestly, I didn't mind that last part, as it made him look like he were in a mask, which was awesome!

"Hmm..." I frowned silently as I took a photo of him too, Bentley gasping at that.

"I can't believe it! That's the famous **Brian Wingdust**! He's the most daring and handsome double-agent in the entire world! He works for the cops, but he's also helped out thieves like us from time to time. He always helps the side he finds is in the right. If he wasn't in disguise, then everyone in that party would recognize him!" Bentley said, my eyes being raised at that. I went back to the safehouse and gave the photos to Bentley, him then beginning his slideshow.

"Stealing the Clockwerk Wings in the middle of a crowded ballroom is going to take some serious misdirection! And the squad of undercover cops only makes things more complicated! Although... we may just be able to use them to our advantage... but no matter what we do in the ballroom, sooner or later we'll need to deal with Rajan's security chopper. Murray can take it out with some of the local armaments, but he and I can't get into the palace until someone lowers the drawbridge for us," Bentley said, me looking at Sly and smiling at him.

"I'm going to go do some undercover work at the ball. Sly, you can handle the drawbridge with Ruby," I smiled as I instantly put on a disguise out of thin air, the gang smiling at how regal I looked in it.

"Your disguise is gorgeous! So what are you going to do?" Bentley asked me with a smile.

"I'm going to go to the ball and convince Brian Wingdust to tango with me. If all goes as planned, I should be able to convince him to dance with me for an encore for the heist," I smiled widely.

"Ingenious! If you dance with someone as dashing as him, the entire ballroom would be distracted, allowing us to get the wings down without any suspicion!" Bentley smirked at me.

"You got the dashing part right... man, what a hunk!" I smiled widely as I then went on my way to the ball as Meg gave me a message.

"So... your choice of potential boyfriend in this world is a butterfly person? You realize he's an insect and you're a human, right?" Ella asked me, me smirking at her with a stuck out tongue.

"Who cares about that? He looks human minus the extra appendages and nose, so what harm could it do? Besides, I'm sure that species don't really matter much in this world, right Bentley?" I asked, him smirking at me in the Binocucom.

"Quite right. If two species are to have children together, it will randomly be either of the species of the parents. It may be the mother's genes, or maybe the father's genes, but it mainly depends on who is the more dominant of the duo in the relationship," Bentley smiled.

"Cool! I'm going in," I smiled as I reached the door and knocked on the knocker, the guy in the peephole looking at me afterwards. "Hello there. I'm here for the dance," I smiled at him.

"Come on in, miss," the guy smiled, me walking through the door and emerging on the other side to look at the tons of different things in the palace happily.

No one even looked at me in confusion when they saw me walking by. Why? Because I was dressed to look like a red panda (exotic type raccoon) and my choice of attire was a lavish gown of pure red with a flower headband atop my head and ruffles coming from the skirt of the dress. I looked like I was a rich well-to-do woman from the older days and I loved every minute of it! I then approached the man known as Brian and he smiled at me.

"Well, well, who would you happen to be, young madame?" he asked me with a smile.

"Oh, no one much. Just a certain unknown creature in this world full of talking animals," I smiled as I picked a penny from my pocket, my calling card, him smirking and recognizing me afterwards.

"You're that Ella Unknown girl, aren't ya?" he asked with a hushed voice. I nodded. "You wouldn't by chance be here to turn yourself in, would you? Those two dashing ladies over there would fall out of their frocks," Brian said, referring to Neyla and Carmelita, me smiling at him.

"Well, as good as that sounds, no, I'm here for those giant flappers. And we need your help during the heist," I smiled at him with my voice a whisper as well, him looking at the wings with a smile.

"Ohoho! If you could manage that, I'd become your full hire anytime you wish for my assistance. But first, you must impress me. I only dance with the finest of the dancing crowd," Brian said with a smile.

"Then let us wow the crowd and do that tango, my fair, handsome butterfly," I smiled at him in a suave nature of my own.

"Bellissima," Brian smiled, me now noting that he was Italian. I then took him in the tango pose and proceeded to lead him in the tango, him actually being surprised that I was leading him, but him not minding much, as my moves were quite good. Little known fact about me, I actually was forced by my mom to enter dance classes when I was in high school. I hated it back then, but I loved it now because it made me amazing at the tango.

"How would you happen to get those things off of that statue, anyway?" he asked into my ear during the first interlude.

"Some strong hacksaws, a tango, and tons of heavy lifting," I smiled back at his ear before leading into the next part, me doing a couple graceful moves of my own while he followed my every step, me hearing Rajan speak during the second interlude.

"That woman is very graceful," he said, me smiling at that.

"If only ya moved spice shipments as well," Bison frowned, me throwing a flower at Rajan before he could growl angrily, him smiling at the offering as I then began the last bits of the tango. And when it came to the finish, I did the moves before ending in a romantic bow, me looking into Brian's eyes happily. He looked so handsome, and gorgeous at the same time with those wings.

"Well, I don't believe I've ever been led in a tango before. You've got style, Elle," he smiled at me.

"Much appreciated coming from someone as famed as you. So, we have an encore dance later on?" I smiled at him, Brian smiling widely at me.

"You've got yourself an encore performance that shall go down as one of the greatest in history," he smiled at me while Neyla approached with a smile.

"Well, Brie, it looks like your friend is quite the good dancer," Neyla smiled at Brian, him smiling at that.

"Well, I tried to make her look good," Brian smiled, me smirking at that.

"Puh-lease, Brian. Her skills and looks far surpass yours," Neyla said, me looking at her in confusion before speaking in a fake voice.

"Are... Are you complimenting my looks compared to him?" I asked her, Neyla doing the impossible. She blushed! And then she spoke some words I never thought I'd hear her of all people say.

"You are, in a word, gorgeous. I must ask, are you seeing anyone?" Neyla asked, me blushing immensely before looking at Brian and him shrugging at that.

"Uh... I believe I need to go to the bathroom... like, for a really long time... uh... and to answer your question, miss, I am single, but I'll keep your words in my head and get back to you on that point later," I said, barely able to keep my fake voice up for long before I then walked extremely fast towards the exit and leaving the place before I squealed extremely loudly, an echo coming out from across the entire complex.

"I... I can't believe my ears! Neyla's into girls! And she said I was gorgeous! Ah... Ah! I-I need to get back to the Safehouse! The others HAVE to hear this!" I said with excitement as I rushed to the Safehouse from my current position, seeing that the drawbridge had been lowered and the controls destroyed. Now it'd stay shut forever.

I ran into the Safehouse with my face completely red as I took the disguise off with a snap of my fingers, sweat pouring down my face with a smile of pure giddiness on my head.

"What's up, sis? You look like you either saw something you shouldn't have seen, or something embarrassing happened," Meg asked, me smiling and then telling them what happened.

"Okay... heh... okay... You guys, are NOT going to believe what I'm about to say... Neyla, after I got Brian to agree to an encore dance for the heist... she said I was gorgeous and asked if I was single! She's into me! She thinks I'm a potential girlfriend!" I said, my sister and Ruby gasping before blubbering their faces trying to hold in their laughter, same with Sly, but Bentley kept his stone face on... that is until everyone let it go and proceeded to have the laugh of a lifetime.

"Oh, this is just rich! Hah! You got a cop to fall in love with you at a ball! Did she know you were in disguise?" Meg asked with hysterical laughter afterwards.

"She has no fucking clue! She thinks I'm a red panda! I almost peed my pants when she said those words to me! She actually blushed before saying it too!" I laughed, everyone having their laughter peter out by the time Murray got back in three minutes.

"Okay... okay... hrk... we need to pull a few more jobs before we go for the heist. First, Ella, Murray, and Meg will go to the guard's boardroom so we can get access to the electronic winch above the ballroom. We'll need an extra strong saw blade to cut the wings free, so Sly and Ruby will be in charge of freeing Rajan's prize elephants and steal the jewels off their headdresses. And finally, I'll take to the field with my RC chopper. We'll need clear skies and ground for the heist, so I'll take care of Rajan's surface-to-air defenses. Let's go," Bentley smirked, the slideshow ending afterwards.


	19. Boardroom Brawl and Neyla's Heartbreak

**Chapter 19**

"I still can't believe that bitch Neyla likes you in a romantic sense. Back in my times, we girls got hung over a crowd of rich folks for even mentioning anything relating to liking women over men," Henriette said in my head as I crawled through the drainage pipe.

"I can't believe it either! I mean, when first encountered, she didn't really seem to have a preference," I said with surprise in my head.

"Well, now we have another leg up on her. You're sure to get her upset if ye can reveal it at the right time," Henriette smirked as we appeared in the main area, getting the call from my sis on my Binocucom.

"Murray's frame prevents him from going through the drain pipe, so we'll need you to throw the switch to open the palace doors for us to enter," my sister said, me smiling at her. "According to what Ruby found out with her magic, the guards keep the code for the laser fence hidden underneath one of their tables in there. Find it and put the code in to gain access to the treasure room," Meg smirked.

"Roger that, sistah," I smiled at her as I then proceeded to knock out the flashlight guards with barely a sound until I got to the break tables, looking under each, just in case it were different than the game. And just my luck, it happened to be underneath the very first table! "Got the code!" I smirked, making a mental note that it was a 5 digit code. I then got to the keypad and put it in. "51379," I smiled, putting in the code and then entering the treasure room, looting all the money safes and taking out a cobra before flipping the switch. Why didn't I go for the vault? Because, for some bizarre reason, there wasn't one! Neither was there a vault in Dimitri's office!

I then got to the top parts of the room and saw Murray and Meg appear from the door.

"Thanks for breaking us in, Ella. The Murray approves!" Murray smirked.

"Okay, time to get to business. I'm going to need to hack both of these computers in order to get control of that winch above the ballroom," Ella said.

"So what are me and Ella here for?" Murray asked.

"Well, the second I begin to hack into the systems, it will trigger a silent alarm and guards will be coming in by the dozens. You need to protect me while I hack the terminals. After all, I'd like to complete this adventure without any broken bones," Meg smiled.

"You and me, bud. Side by side, fighting tons of bogeys. Let's do this thing," I smiled at Murray.

"The Murray knows no fear!" Murray smiled widely as Meg then started to hack the first terminal.

"Okay, okay, hacking the level 6 barrier," Meg said, the first bit of guards coming in... but get this! After taking out only two of them, guess what happened. "Oh my! This is easier than I expected! Time for level 5!" Meg said in surprise as she then got over to the next terminal, me smiling at how Bruce O' Coop's technique was helping her hack the computers faster and easier. We then did this for four more times before she finally got to level 1. "Let's see if I can break my record! Going for level 1 access!" Meg smirked as we took out five more bogeys and she cheered loudly after getting the final terminal hacked and the guards stopped showing up, a giant pile of bruised and unconscious guards right by the edge of the arena.

"Oh yeah! I'm the greatest hacker evah! I got control of the winch! Thanks for backing me up, guys," Meg smirked widely and proudly.

"No problem, sis. Me and The Murray had it covered," I smiled, Murray smiling at me calling him by title.

"Okay, let's hook up the direct feed and get out of here before more bogeys show up. Wanna come with, sis?" Meg smiled at me.

"Duh," I smirked as she simply put a small bug on one of the computers (it being flat as paper and going right on the screen. It was even see-through!) and we left through the doors, me seeing that they actually led to a room near the top of the palace's roof. And then there was also a room higher than where we exited from. Most definitely leading to the winch.

We then returned to the hideout and went over the plan.

"Okay, everyone, synchronize your watches. Operation Hippo Drop is going to take extreme precision. First, I'll go and demolish the palace's main bridge. Once destroyed, it will cut off reinforcements from the guest houses and will undoubtedly draw the guards away from the Clockwerk Wings. Ella will then take Brian up on his offer for a dance and while the crowd is transfixed by their tango, Murray will lower into the ballroom on the electronic winch with Meg at the computers. He'll cut the wings free and then winch back up for an exit. Ruby and I will then cover his escape with Ruby's magic and my RC chopper... oh, and Sly? I'll need you to come with me to blow up the bridge so you can get me across it with your defy gravity technique. Once we're all past the drawbridge, we're home free," Bentley smiled.

I then moved to my position and back into my disguise, getting past the guard at the door and making my way down to the side of the crowd, me seeing Murray at the very top of the hole and getting hooked in by Meg. He didn't go through it yet, for obvious reasons. I then saw some guards approach Rajan and whisper something in his ear.

"What?! The bridge is destroyed?! Take all the manpower you need and look into it!" Rajan growled angrily, the guards then leaving their post of the Clockwerk Wings. I then smiled and talked in my Binocucom.

"Murray? Sis? In position?" I asked them.

"Check and check," Meg smiled.

"I'll distract the crowd, you guys handle the heavy lifting," I smiled as I then approached Brian with a smile.

"Well, Brian, I believe that we owe each other the best encore performance in history?" I smiled at him.

"Why, yes we do, lovely Bella," he smiled, calling me the Italian word for lovely.

"Then let us do a tango so impressive, it will make the universe fall down in tears," I smiled as I held him in the romantic beginning pose and we then began to the the tango, but I did it in different ways to entice the crowd. The entire crowd was transfixed onto me, even the ones in the balconies! The first Interlude then happened and Brian smiled at me.

"You really are, how you say, fabulous at tango," he smiled at me.

"Eh, I had years of practice in high school," I smiled at him honestly as we then tangoed the next bit, me adding the next few moves carefully and precisely. And once the second Interlude happened, I overheard some banter between Neyla and Carmelita.

"Come on, go ask her out!" I heard Carmelita say.

"But, what if she says no?" Neyla asked.

"Sometimes you just need to bite the bullet. Once they're done dancing, make your move," Carmelita said, me smiling at how Neyla was lovestruck by my disguised form. I then did the final bit of the tango with Brian, finishing it with a twirl and Brian amazed at how the Clockwerk Wings were now completely gone!

"You are, in one word, amazing," he smiled at me as Neyla then approached me.

"Miss, I must know. What's your name? I want to date you," Neyla said.

"Your date is accepted, Neyla," I smiled in my REAL voice. And when I did, Neyla stammered a bit and I saw her face turn from smile to shock. But then Rajan spoke.

"THE WINGS?! What happened to the Clockwerk Wings?!" Rajan exclaimed, the crowd being distracted by that long enough for me to activate invisibility and leave a rose behind in Neyla's ear. But not without some special calling cards. A penny and a Cooper mask calling card. I then rushed myself and Brian out of the ballroom, but not before the awesomeness happened.

"Cooper!" Carmelita exclaimed when she saw the calling card. But Neyla? She exclaimed something else, literally in tears.

"THAT SMARMY BLIGHTERRRRR! AAAAHHHAAAAUUUGGHHH!" she actually broke down crying! It was AWESOME!... But at the same time, I couldn't help but feel very sorry for her. But then I remembered. Back-stabber. Unless she could prove to me that she was good, she was not going to be in my good graces anytime soon.

"I see the wings! A big hippo has them!... Man, can that guy lift!" Brian gawked at Murray as I rushed us over to the drawbridge and we got in the van just as Murray was getting past the fountain. The moment he entered with Meg and Ruby right behind him, Sly punched the ignition and we raced to a good vantage point overlooking the place while still staying hidden.

"Bellissimo! That was the greatest heist AND the greatest tango performance I have ever been a part of! I can hardly believe the fabulousness that is Ella Unknown and the Cooper Gang!" Brian said with his wings outstretched, me seeing someone jump from the palace's drawbridge and leaving a scratch mark on a tree... but not before I saw something that he had on him that Henriette gawked at as well.

"Clockwerk's heart... the entire soul of the Cooper's nemesis..." Henriette gawked.

"Where?! Where'd you see it?" Sly asked.

"We saw Rajan carry it with him into the deep jungles. He's sure to have some kind of base through the thicket. And I suggest we start chasing him soon, because it looks like the cavalry has been officially called in, no thanks to me completely breaking the hearts of Neyla and Carmelita," I smiled at the numerous choppers and cop cars that came onto the scene.

"She took it hard, huh?" Ruby asked.

"She literally broke down into a crying fit after she found out who I was in disguise. It honestly was both awesome and heartbreaking at the same time," I said with honesty.

"You mean you sympathize with her?" Meg asked.

"Well, no, I don't sympathize for her. I just don't like breaking people's hearts. So seeing that made me a bit sad on the inside," I frowned.

"Well, enough about that, we need to start searching for where Rajan is in that jungle," Ruby said, her already grabbing one of her voodoo trinkets and humming in thought, me then seeing her eyes turn to the color of Rajan's and me smiling at her. She was seeing what he saw.

"Okay, he's proceeding to the far northwest of our current position... hold on... he's just entered what looks to be an incredibly large temple that looks to be in ruins... now he's going inside and... oh my god!" Ruby gasped.

"What? What is it?" Brian asked her.

"He's got SO MUCH Rage Rosetrum! That temple is the thriving source of his spice operations! We need to get going there and fast before he sells anymore of that stuff!" Ruby said with seriousness, Brian gasping at that.

"Rage Rosetrum?! The Klaww gang specializes in RAGE ROSETRUM?! That's only the most dangerous illegal drug being used by people! Hundreds of cops, lost to the ether from the fury of those who use too much! Now I know I must be with your gang from now until the end of the Klaww Gang's existence!" Brian said with extreme passion in his voice, me smirking at him.

"You are going to fit right in with our gang of misfits," I smiled at him.

"Let's proceed off to the temple proper," I said as we then proceeded to start our trek through the jungle... on foot.


	20. Twisted Betrayal

**Chapter 20**

After nearly 3 hours of slogging through the jungles, we finally made it to the temple and found a secure Safehouse in the canopy. It was far enough away from the temple to have anyone spot us and, best of all, the place was absolutely gorgeous to look at from the visuals of Thieves in Time!

"Okay, I'm going to go take some recon photos. Any leads, Bentley?" I asked the turtle, him looking at the map of our area and pointing to a single area. Behind the waterfall.

"There should be a hidden passage to the spice growing facility behind the waterfall on this point. You'll need to hug the cliff to the west in order to get there," Bentley said.

"Thanks," I smiled at him as I then went out into the rainy jungle and proceeded to get on my way to Rajan's spice growing plant. I took out multiple cobras and a few guards on the way before shimmying through the pipe to enter the main area of interest.

"Okay, according to my scanners, you're near the spice growing facility. Judging from my knowledge of photosynthesis, they should keep all the expensive equipment at the top. That access tube should get you up there undetected," Bentley said.

"Alright, going to the top of the rose garden," I smiled, calling it that just in case Rajan could hear us. I then did a large jump from the ground to the pipe in no effort at all and proceeded to take photos of Rajan and his stuff, me noting the heart pieces were actually smaller than in the game, but no less deadly. The one hung above the spice plants was actually pumping nonstop, the result being all the plants getting irrigated to become bigger and more productive!

I also took a photo of the area with the door and knew where it went, but not daring to go over there. At least, not with Rajan standing guard of the complex.

"Bring those photos back to the Safehouse... we'll really need to think about this one," Bentley said, me nodding at that and leaving the place, returning to the Safehouse and Bentley beginning his slideshow. "The Clockwerk Heart is under some steep security. Heck, Rajan is carrying half of it at all times. To get at the goods, we'll need some more intel. First, I'll need Sly to take a local Indian Water Bug to Rajan's office so its wing vibrations can be used to hear what he says. Meanwhile, Ella and Ruby will lift the blueprints off the spice lord while he makes his round... unfortunately, while we're getting dirt on him, he'll be getting information on us with an elephant-driven satellite array. Which leads me to Sly and Brian. You'll need to find some Rage Rosetrum growing in the jungle canopy and feed it to the elephant to destroy the contraption," Bentley said.

"Crude, but effective," Brian smiled as we then proceeded out to do our jobs, me and Ruby going to the eastern bridge over the complex and spying Rajan standing on the ground without the heart on his stick.

"Dangit, he left the heart inside of the temple. He sure is a smart kitty," Ruby frowned.

"Okay, we're going to need to lift the blueprints off of Rajan. You think you can make him feel the need to touch everything for a few minutes so I can get the blueprints?" I smiled at Ruby.

"Teehee! It's my favorite part of the job," Ruby smiled as she then started to chant ominously and Rajan gained a giant smile on his face as well as some guards nearby, them proceeding to act extremely high and start touching each other creepily, me laughing at that as I then jumped down to the giant tiger and stole all three blueprints from him in no time flat. Once I got all of them, I then jumped back to Ruby and she then ended the spell, the guards and Rajan gasping at their new cuddling stance and them shouting at that, my smile widening after Rajan checked his pockets and gasped.

"What?! The blueprints have been stolen?! What the hell is going on?!" Rajan asked in shock... and then I heard a giant snap sound off from the west. The satellite had been demolished by the elephant going into a rage and Rajan looked over in that direction with some binoculars.

"Vipers in the grass! I'm not safe out here!" Rajan gasped as he then proceeded to go to the temple door and looked at his guards angrily. "Protect my temple from any further intrusion! I expect my meals and drinks delivered to me from here on out until those thieves have left my empire!" Rajan said angrily, me then frowning at Henriette's next words.

"Damn, we scared the shit out of this guy. You think he's serious?" Henriette asked.

"Dead serious. No way he'd say that with the voice he just used. He's scared stiff... we'll need to tell the... others..." I said, my voice petering out as I saw someone go over to the area to the west. A certain purple-furred tigress. "You go back to the Safehouse, Ruby. I'm going to do something else," I said, going over to the area and cutting the connection to my Binocucom as I caught up to Neyla and she didn't notice I was behind her... but I could tell she wasn't the same as before. Why? She wasn't wearing her bonnet on her, allowing her black hair to flow freely from her head.

"Neyla?" I said, her stiffening and turning around, me looking at her face-to-face and expecting a whip to the face for what I did to her, but Neyla breathed in an exhaled sharply.

"Hey..." she said simply and bluntly. "Look, we both know what happened back there, so why don't we just talk about it?" Neyla asked, me sighing and nodding at her.

"I have my connections off, so you're aware," I said as I looked at her and simply led us to an area that the guards couldn't reach us. Up by the top of the central pillar. "The guards won't be able to find us here. So... you want to talk about the ball?" I asked, Neyla sighing and nodding. "So you know, I didn't expect you to fall in love with me while I was in disguise... but I didn't want to ruin the heist with you knowing I was there... I'm sorry I didn't say anything, Neyla... I didn't want to see you break down like that," I said, her sighing and drooping her head down.

"I know... but I need to tell you of something that has happened," Neyla said, me wondering what it would be.

"What is it?" I asked her. She then told me something that I didn't know what to think of.

"Arpeggio fired me for my incompetence... and he's contacted Brian in secrecy, hiring him as his new partner... Brian plans to betray all of you when you are most vulnerable and take all of you to jail," Neyla said, me trying to see if she was lying... but I didn't know how to know if she could lie.

"Well, honestly, Neyla, I don't know if I could believe you unless you proved it... no offence, but your track record isn't really one built on trust," I said, Neyla stiffening and sighing again.

"I know... but I made a recording of the meeting that Arpeggio had with me in secrecy after the wings were stolen. Here, have a listen," Neyla said as she pulled out a tape recorder and I heard some voices play from it.

"I cannot believe that you did not know that guest was Ella Unknown, Neyla. I thought you were better than this!" Arpeggio's voice said angrily.

"W-Wait... I didn't know it was her... she was in an extremely convincing disguise and she used a fake voice when speaking to me. I only found out when it was too late, after she used that Brian Wingdust to help steal the wings," Neyla frowned with a sigh.

"Well, then I believe that he would make for a better protoge than you ever could, Neyla. I suggest you hand over your communicators for the Klaww Gang. You are officially terminated," Arpeggio said, me gasping at that as the message stopped. Neyla was telling the truth.

"Damn... this is not good... all of my gang thinks he's on our side... so what are we going to do?" I asked Neyla in confusion.

"First order of business, we hide. Don't tell your gang where you plan on going, but we need to find some place to hide from them. Arpeggio's plan to double-cross all of you is so that it will get all of your members in jail at once," Neyla said, me looking at her with a frown as I then looked at the door above us.

"Before we do that, though, we need to steal back the Clockwerk heart pieces that Rajan has. We don't need him getting those pieces to Arpeggio for his plan of hatred-fueled immortality," I said, Neyla nodding at that.

"I know of the door that leads to the Clockwerk Heart. Follow me," Neyla said, her leading me to the short way to the heart, us both going in there and seeing something shocking. Rajan was in here too! Before he could see Neyla, I activated invisibility and touched her, making her invisible as well.

"Shh... We need to get both heart pieces now before he gets onto our plan. Lucky me, I can stop and slow time to my whimsy. Wait outside the door and I'll get those heart pieces quickly," I said to her in her ear with a whisper, Neyla nodding and running back through the open door, allowing me to use slow down time while I was invisible to get the keys from the guards and then I went over to the winch. I unlocked it and then dropped the heart, but stopping time just a few seconds before it would've hit the ground. I then rushed over and snagged the heart from the air while also kicking Rajan in the groin. After doing this, time stopper ended and I used his solar plexius pains to steal the heart piece he kept on his person, then made a fake with the decoy ability and placed it right on the stick in its place, rushing out of there soon after.

"WHA?! Half of the heart is gone, sire! Where did it go?!" one of the guards asked angrily.

"The vipers stole my heart right out from under my nose! They also made a sneak attack on my groin... search the entire facility until you find that heart piece!" Rajan said, me then rushing out of the open door and grabbing Neyla, rushing us to a secret area that I knew that no one would find us at. The very tip top of the Safehouse.

"We'll stay as quiet as mice so as not to alert our friends," I said, making sure to keep both of us invisible as we saw the jobs begin to play out simultaneously. The dam bursting from Bentley using the turrets, Ruby and Murray getting the gem to trade for the Cherry Bomb 500, and me hearing Rajan over the PA system.

"What's going on down there? Spice production is falling behind!... Wait! It's completely stopped!" Rajan yelled from his PA, me smiling as the gang returned one by one and went over the slideshow. After that, I saw Murray and Bentley go to the tower, Ruby and Sly went to the area with the Cherry Bomb, and Brian went to the top of the elephant's head, me turning Neyla and myself invisible and proceeding to have us make our way to the tower that the Bentley hid at, us not making a sound as he shot the seeker bombs as Murray got the throat open. And then Sly walked the Cherry Bomb to its destination with Ruby taking the guards out of commission. Once they all got there, Ruby got Sly and Murray to the top of the place within seconds before the water flooded the entire grotto, Neyla gawking at how we were at this high a vantage point and how water was all around us.

We then watched everything unfold from our positions, with only one thing being different. Rajan tried to use the power of Clockwerk's heart, only for it not to work.

"Rgh! Come on! Work you stupid thing!... Wait..." I heard Rajan say from all the way in my position, wondering how that was even possible.

"Brian! NOW!" Sly yelled.

"See you in prison," Brian said with a sinister nature to his voice as he simply dusted his wing dust into Sly's face and he actually fell asleep and fell all the way into the arena with Rajan jumping in there with Murray!

"Damn..." I gawked, Bentley then gasping as he heard me.

"What the?! There you are, Ella! What's going on here?!" Bentley asked me in shock.

"What's going on, Bentley, is that Brian betrayed all of us! Neyla isn't the one to worry about. Brian just double-crossed all of us! Look!" I said, pointing to the area around the ring and seeing him start to pin blame on everyone but Carmelita. He then looked up at our direction and I gasped.

"Guys! I'm coming!" Ruby exclaimed as she flew to our position with Brian on her tail! I then jumped from my position and grabbed hold of Brian at where it would hurt him most.

"GAGH! Get off my wings, you peasant!" Brian yelled at me.

"I'm not a peasant! I'm A HUMAN!" I exclaimed as I then used all of my strength and then made Brian yell in sheer bloody murder, just as Ruby made it to Neyla, Bentley and Bentley. What did I do to Brian? I RIPPED HIS WINGS RIGHT OFF HIS BACK!

We then were sent spiraling into the waters and I threw the heart pieces up to Neyla, her catching them in an instant.

"Ruby! Get my sister and get out of here! NOW!" I yelled up at them, Ruby nodding and proceeding to fly the other two over to the Safehouse to pick up Meg, them then warping directly out of the place just as the guards arrived at our position.

"You motherfucking bitch! I'm gonna... guh... huh?!" Brian gasping as he then felt his back and then looked over in the water a bit. His wings were in the water and were completely soaked, their dust disintegrating along with them. "M-My wings! MY WINGS! ! ! YOU WILL FEEL MY EVERLASTING FURY, DIAVOLA!" Brian exclaimed as he then grabbed me by the neck and then drug me through the water, me gasping as I felt a loss of air from his forceful hand, me then biting him right on the knuckle, him hissing and slapping me right across the fucking cheek with one swift strike... and after that, I finally felt my stamina drain to a measly 3 percent.

"Put cuffs on her and get her to the most secure prison in the entire world, same with her team here," Brian growled angrily as he tossed me over to the Contessa and Carmelita looked at me with shock at what I'd just done.

"Don't do anything stupid, Carmelita... I'm the outlaw here, you're the officer. Do your job and we'll do ours," I said to her, my voice fading near the end as I felt my eyes fail me.


	21. I'll Take 2 Prison Breaks, Please

**Chapter 21**

When I came to, I saw that I was on a cold floor and that I was in a single room filled with stone walls, a single tiny window to look outside, and I saw a chain around my ankle. And my cane? Nowhere to be seen. I then started to look outside of the bars to my room and I saw the awful truth. I was inside the Contessa's prison. But luckily, in Cell Block D. But I knew that I'd have trouble escaping with my foot in a chain attached to the floor.

I then saw the ugly spider bitch appear before me with a very upset Brian Wingdust next to her.

"Let's see, Ella Unknown, species... well, unknown... age unknown, height and weight unknown... it's almost like you don't even exist. So who are you really?" Contessa asked me, me frowning at her angrily.

"You won't get any information out of me, you eight-legged freak. I'm not telling you a thing about me other than my full name and what I am," I frowned at her angrily, seeing I had a prison hat on my head. How lucky! "My full name is Ella Montgomery Farthington. And I. AM. A. HUMAN!" I exclaimed, throwing my hat directly at Brian and him grabbing it like an idiot. He then got blasted back to the walls of the other side, me smirking as my hat returned and I smiled at the Contessa. "You want what he got? Cause I got an unlimited supply," I smiled at her, Contessa growling at me angrily, which I then took the opportunity to throw my hat at her, Contessa gasping as I managed to make her hands get badly hurt and burned, her hissing at the blood that came from her hands afterwards. "I suggest you both give up in trying to get information out of me. I'm just going to blow my way out of this prison and you can't do a thing about it," I frowned at them as I then saw that Brian had my cane in his pocket! I then threw another hat at the wall behind me and then activated time stopper. "BANANA... SLAMMAH!" I yelled as I used my super-powerful fist to smash apart the chains around my ankles, then using slowed time to swipe the cane from Brian before the hat bomb exploded, my exit emerging in an instant.

"So long, suckas! HAHA!" I laughed as I then rushed out of the hole I made and rushed to the outside of the prisons and proceeded to get on my Binocucom, which I still had on me! "Bentley! Ruby! Meg! Neyla! Can you read me?! Where are you at?! I need you to help me!" I said to them, me getting a reading from Bentley soon after.

"Ella! Oh thank the servers you're alright! Where are you?!" Bentley asked.

"Prague! The Contessa's Rehabilitation Center! I just busted out of prison by the skin of my teeth! Where are you?!" I asked them with my voice shuddering with fear.

"Okay, we're coming right away!" I heard Meg say, me about to say thanks before I heard something activate from behind me... I looked up and screamed loudly. It was the giant attack robot! And not five seconds later, it blasted me with a beam of electricity and I felt my entire body seize up and fall flat on the ground.

"Ella?! Ella! Are you okay?" Neyla asked with fear in her voice.

"G-G-G-Giant... r-r-r-robot-t-to..." I gagged as I felt spit escape my mouth, me seeing the body of the Contessa come into view.

"Looks like someone wishes to remain in Solitary Confinement, doesn't she?" Contessa smiled widely. I simply spit in her direction, me hearing a splat as I knew I hit her in the face. "Such a rebellious mind, but one that I can surely get quite some knowledge out of with a few sessions," Contessa smiled as I felt a sack cloak my face and someone picking my limp body up.

We must've walked for at least thirty minutes before I was allowed to see again and it just so happened to be in Solitary Confinement... and I saw a big plate of food in front of me coated with red spice.

"I am not eating that," I growled at the Contessa, her then shocking me again as she used her spider silk and tied me up in a straight jacket of thread! I couldn't move at all!

"I'm afraid you have no choice, bitch. Now, be a good girl and eat up," Contessa said, me keeping my mouth closed and refusing to eat anything, even as she got a spoon and tried to force it in my mouth, I refused to even look at it let alone eat it.

"Come on, it won't bite," Contessa said, Henriette talking for me.

"We know what's in that stuff, spider veins! Yer gonna hypnotize us to find out where we keep our loot! Well no one tells the captain what to do, let alone a bitch of an officer that tortures and mind-controls prisoners for her own selfish gains!" Henriette growled in my mind, Contessa surprised at that as I then saw her eyes glow brightly for a few seconds.

"Hmm... it appears you have a second person trapped inside of that skull of yours, Ella the human. Do tell, who is it?" Contessa asked.

"Captain Henriette 'One Eye' Cooper. An' I ain't lettin' anythin' happen to me own captain, Captain Ella! So don't you dare try anything because it will not work," Henriette said angrily, Contessa then smiling and simply doing something that I gasped at. She took one of her sharp fingers and poked me right in the nipple! I yelled at that and she forced the spoon down my throat, forcing me to swallow down the awful stuff and to feel very strange afterwards.

"Goddammit..." I gagged, mostly because I never liked spices. Like, at all! "That tasted like sand paper..."

"You'll see it my way soon enough, bitch. Now, turn on a hypno-box!" Contessa said, me hearing a box turn on and me starting to get surprisingly mad.

"Rgh... No... Don't you dare..." I growled lowly as I tried to break free from the silk. No dice.

"Now, time to delve into your mind," Contessa said, me growling angrily as I then got a bright idea.

"BANANA... SLAMMAH!" I exclaimed angrily, managing to bust my hand out from the silk and slammed my fist directly into Contessa's face, her gasping from the sudden hit and her actually spitting out a tooth! I then ripped myself from the silk and pinned down the giant spider bitch with fury in my eyes. "Who's the bitch now?!" I growled angrily at her as I then slammed my foot into her abdomen five times, Contessa gasping from the loss of air as I then took her keys and opened the door, me then busting my way out through the back door and going to the rooftops, me gasping as, right as that happened, a giant train flew from out of nowhere and slammed into the walls!

"Sweet!" I gawked as I then rushed down to the direction of the Safehouse, this time with invisibility the entire way as I contacted my friends.

"Second time I've had to bust out, guys! Where are you?!" I asked them, Meg being the one to talk.

"We're in the house to the far southeast, by the train tracks! Hurry!" Meg said with joy in her voice, me rushing over there and entering the door before breathing in and out heavily, completely out of breath after everything that just happened.

"I-Is it really you, sis?" Meg asked as she approached me, but I gasped as I did something I didn't want to do. I growled! But when I did, I quickly slapped myself for doing so.

"Uh-oh... what'd that bitch do to you?" Neyla asked, me growling angrily.

"She force-fed me some Rage Rosetrum and turned on something called a hypno-box... after she did that, I felt myself get furious... I used it to my advantage, broke out of my restraints, and completely manhandled that arachnid! I also found out something else about her. She uses spice in her hypnosis to force criminals to reveal where they stash their treasure," I frowned angrily.

"We know. Bentley found that out earlier when he overheard Brian talking on the walls of the prison..." Neyla said, me smiling and producing tears when I saw her, rushing to her and hugging her tightly, her a bit surprised at first before hugging me back. "She's a secret member of the Klaww Gang, too... in possession of Clockwerk's Eyes as well as our friends," Neyla said, me beginning to cry a little bit.

"I'm so happy to be freed from that place... I never expected I would break out not once, but twice... and all in the course of one day..." I said, sniffling in a large booger.

"Okay, enough sappy stuff, once Bentley gets Sly freed, we'll need to free Murray next," Meg said. A few minutes later, Bentley returned and Sly was right behind him, me smiling at them, but a growl escaping my mouth when I saw the shine on Sky's cane... I then looked on my person and saw my cane was on my back. Thank goodness...

"What was the growl for, mate?" Henriette asked, me sighing and telling them what happened.

"Before I escaped a second time, I was forcefully fed a spoonful of soup filled to the brim with Rage Rosetrum... ever since that and Contessa trying to hypnotize me, I get mad when I see bright flashing lights... I don't know why..." I groaned angrily.

"Ah know why," Neyla said with a frown. "It's all according to Arpeggio's plan to revive Clockwerk and become immortal. He had the Contessa use her hypnotism abilities with spice added to the equation. The result is the poor chaps are much more susceptible to hypnotism after even a gram of the stuff. And the effects last indefinitely. So now you'll get angry anytime you see a flash of light. But the good news is that you'll only go into a full rage if you're currently being hypnotized," Neyla said, me breathing a sigh of relief before Ruby talked.

"Why are you helping us out, Neyla? I thought you were a cop?" Ruby asked, Neyla sighing at that.

"After helping you guys in India? I am now just as lowly a thief as you. And not only that, but I heard from Carmelita that she was growing suspicious of Contessa... and then, not two hours ago, I watched something on the news... Carmelita got arrested for a crime she never committed. She was arrested for conspiring with you guys over two years ago!" Neyla said, me seething angrily at that.

"Who arrested her for that dumb of a reason?" I asked angrily.

"Brian did. And if you thought I was corrupt as a cop, you have no clue. Brian Wingdust is actually the most crooked cop in the world! He uses his charm and amazing skills to arrest thieves and innocents alike, but he does it with the end goal always being money. He gets paid by only the wealthiest of criminals and other corrupt cops in order to do his misdeeds... and he is my replacement in the Klaww Gang as of the ballroom incident," Neyla said.

"Let's get to work on freeing Murray, then. I've done some deep data crunching, and I now know that Murray is being kept in cell block D. Getting him out will be tough, as he isn't very light on his feet," Bentley said as he then proceeded to give us the jobs. He gave Ruby the task of handling getting Murray in solitary, Sly the job of pick-pocketing the Contessa's keys, Meg and Neyla got the bridge job, and I got the task of getting the giant robot disabled permanently. And he also gave Sly the secondary job of getting the computer codes.

"Let's do this," I said like a badass.


	22. Ella Mad, Ella Smash

**Chapter 22**

While I did the job for destroying the robot (by electrocuting it with a high-voltage raccoon roll across his entire body and also demolishing its legs with some more super strong punches), I decided to contemplate everything that had happened as of late. I fell in love with a butterfly person and thought he was one of the kindest and most handsome people in this world... but it was all a ruse. He was the real villain and Neyla was on our side. It was such a drastic change to the story that I never expected... and it left me in a terrible predicament... Neyla said she liked me back at the ball, but did she still have those feelings for me? And even then, she was a girl, so we couldn't have any kids... I then made up my mind. I would talk to Neyla when we got back to the hideout.

Once I returned, I waited a few minutes with Bentley until Meg and Neyla returned, me looking at Neyla with a smile and approaching her. "Neyla? Can we have another private talk? Please? I want to say some things..." I said, Neyla smiling and nodding her head.

"No eavesdropping," she said as we entered the bathroom and I sat down on the counter and Neyla on the toilet. "So what did you wanna talk about?" Neyla asked.

"I'm just going to come out and say it... do you still have feelings for me? Or was that just my disguise you had feelings for?" I asked Neyla, her gasping and blushing, but a frown on her face all the same.

"I... I mean, I do like you... especially after that move you did back at the temple... you saved a good bit of us from getting arrested while also doing some serious damage to Brian for double-crossing us... I honestly am both in love with you... but also scared of what might happen if I got you mad," Neyla said, me holding a hand at that.

"Let me stop you there, Neyla. Unless you did something that would really tick me off, like betray all of us like mister Wingless did, I'll never hurt you maliciously. So tell me... do you think you'd be willing to be a couple with me?" I asked her, Neyla smiling at me with tears in her eyes.

"I'd love that," Neyla smiled, me smirking and hugging her awkwardly after that.

"There's only one problem, though... I want to have kids at one point to make more humans in this world as me and my sister are the only ones around... so how do we do that?" I asked, Neyla smiling at that.

"Well, there is actually two things we can do. One thing is to convince one of our allies to donate their sperm to you or we could go to a sperm bank. And to ensure that your kids are humans and not other animals, we give you a shot of Dominance Serum. It's sold at any hospital for a reasonable price and it can actually have differing effects, even deciding on genders and if you want more than one," Neyla said, me gasping at that information.

"A-Are you serious? There's a drug like that in this world?! That's awesome!... Then I know exactly what to do," I smiled at her as I then kissed her on the lips and she blushed at that. "That was step one... now I need to get to step two. But I'm going to wait until we save Murray from his imprisonment and after we find a way to free Carmelita," I said, me then looking at Neyla with a smile. "You wouldn't happen to have more than one tape recorder on you, would you?" I smiled at Neyla.

"I have a whole stash of them in my purse here, see?" Neyla smiled as she pointed to her purse on her shorts and I saw that it had at least 30 in it!

"I have an idea of how to not only save Inspector Fox from being framed, but also get some legitimate dirt on Brian Wingdust so that he is fired from Interpol forever. And we'll need at least two tapes of solid proof to get it done. You in, girlfriend?" I smiled at her, Neyla smiling and blushing at that.

"I'm always up for some deviousness... love," she smiled, me winking at her happily at that. We then got back to the main area and saw that the others were just about to start the slideshow.

"Okay, thanks to the recent efforts of our gang, we're ready to perform a Murray rescue. I call this plan the Trojan Tank... first, I'll use the Contessa's keys to steal one of her tanks. Ruby will proceed to crawl underneath it while everyone else enters the main area with their invisibility. If my calculations are right, the guards won't notice anything out of the ordinary and let us in through the prison gates... we casually roll in, then, I'll blast the security doors leading to Murray's cell block! After that, Ella will proceed to go up to the guard control center to put in the Contessa's encryption algorithm, which I have right here," Bentley said, me smirking at the code. It was quite long, but only consisting of 15 numbers. "Let's just hope Murray hasn't cracked under the Contessa's hypnosis... Neyla and Meg? You stay behind and keep the van ready for a quick exit," Bentley said, my sis and Neyla nodding at that.

We then moved out with Ruby silently making her way after Bentley in the tank while I got to the top of the prison towers with Sly with us going invisible. Once we saw the gates opened, I smirked. "Suckers," I smiled at that, Sly and I jumping down to the ground as Ruby crawled out from under the tank, allowing Bentley to blow apart the doors with three cannon shots.

"Okay, go on ahead and I'll catch up," Bentley said, him getting out of the tank and me smirking as I then whispered my new catchphrase.

"Banana... Slammah!" I said with a whisper, punching the tank right in the turret and chopping it off in one punch! I then led Bentley into the prison area and I then made my way to the guard control center. I jumped from the very bottom all the way to the roof of the center, taking out a few stray spiders before going to the guard and beating him unconscious. I then grabbed the paper and input the 15 digit code. "Any luck?" I asked.

"Success! Come on down, we got a hippo to rescue!" Ruby smiled, me rushing down there just as the gate would've closed. We then saw Murray and I felt angered again... and Henriette noticed.

"Calm down, kid... try to keep a cool head on ye," Henriette said, me snarling, but keeping in control.

"What's going on, friend?" Ruby asked me with a cuteness in her voice.

"Rgh... that damn hypno-box... it's affecting the spice in my body... making me angry... it's already got Murray in an agitated state... Bentley, you stay down here with the computer and hack those lasers... Sly, you go to them and flip the switches for the other hypno-boxes... I'll try to keep my anger under control, but if I completely lose it, have me and Murray smash apart the hypno-boxes... turning on all of them should get Murray to bust down those doors," I said, Sly looking at me with a nod.

"Let's do it... we promise not to hurt you guys if you get out of control," Sly said as he and Ruby proceeded to the laser grids and Bentley hacked them easily, the switches getting flipped for two of the hypno-boxes and me gasping and growling more angrily while clutching my head in fury.

"CALM DOWN, MATE! Don't make me force meself into control!" Henriette growled at me, me sighing and grinning and bearing it, but it not really doing much to help out... then when the final hypno-box was activated? I felt all of my senses go out of whack... I only knew one thing. Fury. And I needed to destroy something. ANYTHING!

"RRRRRAAARRRGGHHH! BAAANAAANAAA! SLAMMMAH!" I yelled extremely angrily as I then punched the ground so powerfully, I felt a legitimate earthquake around my entire body! I then gasped as I heard a hypno-box get crushed and I felt some of my anger go away, me then noticing Murray was out of his cell and me then smirking as I then felt my anger in check again. "BANANA SLAMMAH!" I yelled as I completely demolished the second hypno-box while Murray slammed his cranium into the third after being baited to it with Sly. And then, I finally destroyed the last one, my anger now fueled by protecting my hippo friend as I utterly trashed the final box, my head swimming after the massive power trip and me relieved that everyone was okay.

"Who... what?... Is this heaven?" Murray asked when he saw all of us.

"Sorry pal, you're no angel... and neither am I," I smiled at that, me breathing in deeply and smiling. "Thanks for keeping me in check, captain Cooper," I smiled at my noggin.

"You're welcome, but I ain't captain no more. Yer the captain now, me hearty," Henriette smiled at me... I then saw the gates open to the outside and I smirked at who appeared.

"What's with all the racket down here? And what was with that earthquake?!... The weak-minded hippo is free!" Contessa exclaimed, me simply locking eyes with her and holding my prison hat in hand, her gasping at that.

"Well, well. Spider bitch, spider bitch. Uses bird eyes like a witch. Swinging webs. To climb up walls. Now time for me. To gouge eyeballs. Look out!" I yelled angrily with my rhyme as I then lunged through the air and stuck the hook of my cane directly into the left eye of the Contessa, her shrieking in agony before knocking me and the cane off of her, but not without me gaining a new item from the experience. The Contessa's blood red eye.

"YOU BITCH! I-I need to retreat!" Contessa exclaimed as she then rushed out of the place as fast as her eight legs could carry her with all of us hot on her trail, as my earlier escape completely demolished the gates escaping solitary confinement! We chased her all across the tops of the towers of the prison walls until she finally got to her blimp and she thought she'd be safe, but I quickly made her rethink that plan as I jumped after her and landed right on top of her abdomen, pulling at her hair with all my might, her gasping at me giving her head even more pain.

"ACK! Get off my hair, you bitch! RIGHT NO-AAAOWW!" Contessa yelled angrily as I yanked harder.

"NOT UNTIL YOU RELEASE CARMELITA FROM PRISON AND DROP ALL THE CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST HER! AND THAT MEANS RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" I yelled angrily, Contessa gulping and laying her legs down, pulling out a walkie-talkie from her bra.

"Calling... Captain of Interpol... this is Contessa... I have something to say... Carmelita is innocent... I arrested her under false pretenses and faulty evidence..." Contessa said, the captain of Interpol then yelling angrily through the walkie-talkie and rightfully so. "I understand... but you will never get to me. Even if it is the end of existence, I will still walk free!" Contessa said, me confused before she grabbed me by the arm and slammed my body against the ground, her then producing something from her pocket and me gasping. The Clockwerk eyes! "Go to sleep... go to a deep sleep," she said, me gasping as I felt the Clockwerk eyes begin to hypnotize me... and I knew that I was done. If the Contessa saw my memories, there would be no more hope... she'd blab the truth about everything...

* * *

"Don't wimp out yet, Captain! WAKE UP!" Henriette yelled, me gasping awake and seeing that I was just about to be strapped into the machine and Contessa surprised as I grabbed her hand and I yanked her forward, me growling at her angrily.

"You better think twice about doing anything to my brain, spider ass. It won't be easy trying to brainwash two girls in one brain. And my friends are going to win this war. You are going to lose and so will your corrupt, wingless accomplice," I growled at her, me seeing the Shadow Guard were in the room and me knowing that I had to act quick. I quickly executed Time Stopper and smashed my cane against the Shadow Guard's legs while also stealing all of their weapons while also getting to the Mind Shuffler... and guess what happened to be nearby? A magical candle, like the ones in Ruby's lair! Once Time Stopper wore off, I grabbed the candle and saw that the Contessa was right next to the restraints and I smile as I held the candle in hand.

"What?! Shadow guard?! What have you done to my Shadow Guard?!" Contessa asked, me smirking and snickering.

"You have no chance, filthy witch. Now watch the awesomeness that is the power of Ruby the Mystic," I smiled as I thought to Ruby and she gawked as I relayed the message.

"You need the mojo candle to destroy a machine fueled by magic?! On it!" Ruby said in my head, me then placing the candle on the machine and Contessa gasping as the magical flame then went directly into the pipes of the machine and, after a few moments of short-circuiting, I hopped away from it and threw the Contessa into the Mind Shuffler, her exclaiming in sheer suffering from the pain she endured, the eyes falling from above and me snagging them in a snap.

"So long, bug bitch!" I laughed as I then rushed out of the tower she had me in and I contacted my friends.

"Okay, guys, I'm getting sick and tired of busting myself out of prison and getting captured! Give me your location because I NEED IT NOW!" I yelled at them, Neyla getting on the line immediately after.

"Ella! Get to a house across the river! It's marked in your Binocucom! Hurry!" Neyla yelled, me then rushing across the rooftops as I had the entire castle set on my ass! I rushed as fast as I could until I could finally get to the Safehouse, me using invisibility in Brian's section as I then rushed into the Safehouse, my breathing even more erratic than usual.

"What were you thinking, Ella! You could've gotten yourself killed!" I heard a voice say with the group that made me gasp. Carmelita. She then went to me and slapped me right across the face, it stinging like all hell.

"Look! If I wouldn't have gone after the Contessa, then it would've been you, Carmelita, who would've been strapped to a torture device and getting brainwashed with these!" I growled angrily, showing her the eyes that I nabbed from the Contessa, Carmelita gasping at what I said.

"So... they weren't lying... you were the reason I got out of prison?... How did you do that?" Carmelita asked.

"I was absolutely pissed at Contessa after what she did to me in that prison... she forced me to eat some of that illegal spice and I almost hurt my friends when I tried to save Murray because of the hypnosis... I get angry anytime I see bright lights now. I bet that if I even saw sunlight, it'd be enough to get me angry! So I chased after her the whole way to her blimp and then jumped onto her back and forced her to let you out of prison! She and Brian were the causes of you getting arrested. And it was just for one thing that you did. Helping us take out Clockwerk, which to most should be considered a great achievement! So I forced her to tell the captain of Interpol to give you your job back and to release you from jail... so why are you even here?" I asked her, Carmelita gasping at that.

"I... I have my job back?" Carmelita asked, her then getting on her own walkie and calling her boss.

"Captain?... Am I really back in Interpol?" Carmelita asked, her smile and tons of tears forming from her eyes after she heard the news.

"I thank you, Captain..." Carmelita said with a sob as she then hung up and looked at me with a smile of absolute kindness. "I can never repay you enough for doing this for me, Ella... I don't even care who you are or what you do anymore, so long as we meet up in an area, from now on, even if Cooper is with you guys, I'll help you do whatever you want. After all, if what they said is true, they're the reason that I get most of my criminals in jail. They beat them up and leave the evidence of their crimes, I arrest them, right?" Carmelita asked, me nodding at that.

"Right on the money, fox... but we're going to need to put that to work right now. We need to assault the castle and have you arrest Contessa for her crimes against Interpol and thieves alike. And we're going to do it tonight," I said with absolute seriousness.


	23. Arresting an Arachnid

**Chapter 23**

It came as little surprise to me that the Contessa battened down the hatches on her entire castle after I did that daring escape just in the nick of time, all thanks going directly to Henriette. So Bentley had to make up some new plans on the fly, me smiling at them.

"Okay, here's the plan. First, we're going to need to get some dirt on Brian if we're to prevent him from taking the credit for taking out the Contessa. So, Neyla, Sly, and Ruby will proceed to go to his bank and plant a bug in his office, one that will record all of his conversations.

Next, I'm going to have Carmelita and Ella proceed back to the Reeducation Tower to find the Contessa and arrest her for her crimes. How will they do this? The answer is simple... The Contessa has an innate fear of frogs. So you two will hotwire the Contessa's boat in the harbor and use it to go fishing for the little frogs. Once you have enough, Ella will release them through a secret window into the Contessa's tower and then Carmelita will corner her as she escapes. Oh, and I recommend that Sly, Carmelita, Neyla, and Ella all get to purchasing some Paragliders. You may need them for future jobs," Bentley said, me smirking at that as I then got onto the computer onto Thiefnet and saw a bundle deal of 5 Paragliders for 2500 Euros. And considering all the thieving that we had done during the trip to Monaco from the Slot Machines, we had more than enough to pay for it. I then bought the stuff, Bentley looking at me in confusion as I had bought an extra set.

"If you're wondering why I bought an extra Paraglider, it's just in case we happen to get any new members to our gang down the road," I said with a smile. I then proceeded with Carmelita down to the piers and we hopped over to the boat, us having to take out a couple of the Contessa's guards, which Carmelita then put cuffs on each of them as we then drove the boat out to an area Bentley marked with the Binocucom.

"Okay, Ella, the area you are currently in is full of frogs. You'll need to jump into the water and grab them as they jump to the lily pads. We'll need at least 10 of them if we're going to get the Contessa out of that tower," Bentley said, me smiling at that.

"Finally! A real challenge," I smiled, Carmelita smirking at me.

"Yeah, right. Busting out of prison three times in one night? That's unheard of, especially since you escaped from the most fearsome prison in the world twice and from the Contessa herself an extra time! No one else I know could manage to do that, not even the most notorious thugs in the world!" Carmelita said, me smiling at her.

"Thanks for the compliment, Carmelita. But I can't take all the credit. Henriette helped me out back at that tower. If she hadn't have woken me up from the sleeping hypnosis, I'd have been strapped to that chair in no time," I smiled.

"Aw, thanks, captain," Henriette smiled at me. I then dove into the water and grabbed at least two frogs with both hands that were on the lily pads, me bringing them to Carmelita and her producing a small cage for me to keep them in, but also making sure they had water with them. I continued to fish for frogs with my superior swimming abilities until I only had one left to get. And it was currently in the water on Carmelita's side. She then smirked and did something that made my eyes furrow at her. She grabbed a net from under her seat and scooped the frog into it without a hassle!

"You couldn't have said something that entire time, could ya?" I groaned at her, my outfit now needing a different look since I got completely drenched in the water.

"I just wanted to see if you'd catch them all on your own without a net," Carmelita smirked at me.

"Meanie," I groaned at her as I hopped back into the boat and we then proceeded on our way back to the main area and on our way to the reeducation tower. Carmelita was able to jump quite high, like in the third game, and she and I managed to make our way to the tower with no guards onto us at all. "Okay, I'll go release the frogs through the window. The moment the Contessa escapes through the front door, you zap her with that shock pistol until she falls down. Cuff her, then call your boss for extraction. In the meantime, I'm going to stick around in case anything bad were to happen involving a certain wingless asshole," I said, Carmelita smiling at that.

"By the way, you ripping off that backstabber's wings with your bare hands? He deserved that and it looked awesome!" Carmelita smiled.

"He did and thanks for the compliment," I smiled back at her as I shimmied my way to the window of the tower and entered it, seeing that the Contessa had a few minions in the tower, none of them nearly as tough as the Shadow Guard. I then made my way to the bars and opened the container of my little friends, releasing them into the room and the Contessa gasping and shaking when she heard them start croaking.

"N-No... NO! Get those horrid things away from me! EEEEK!" The Contessa shrieked like she were a little girl, rushing out of the place while her minions tried to catch the frogs, me slamming down the bars and taking out the smaller thugs as I heard some shock blasts from outside the tower.

"Stay down or I'll zap you again with greater force," Carmelita frowned angrily as I approached the Contessa and saw she was on her abdomen and upside-down, me smiling as she looked at me with fear. "Remember what you were going to do to me, spider legs? For ruining my life of loving flashing lights and sunlight, I'm going to do one thing to you that will make you regret ever messing with me," I growled at her, me then taking one penny and making a small incision in her abdomen before putting the penny inside of it. "From me to you, choke on it," I growled at her angrily as Carmelita then got on her walkie-talkie.

"Hello? Captain? I need an extraction sent to the Contessa's Castle. I have the Contessa in custody," Carmelita said as she took out 10 different handcuffs and placed them on Contessa's eight legs and on her claw-like hands. We then heard some kind of commotion start coming from the air and saw some helicopters start landing on the top of the castle, a bunch of Interpol officers emerging from it and me having to turn invisible to prevent from getting arrested.

"Excellent police work, Inspector Fox! We honestly never expected you to be able to handle the Contessa all on your own," I heard a different cop ask, him being a pig... of course.

"Well, I didn't really do it by myself. I had help from a friend," Carmelita smirked, me smiling at that, but keeping quiet.

"And who would this friend happen to be?" I heard a voice ask from nearby that made me furrow my eyes. The wingless bastard himself as he appeared from the bottom with a frown. "Maybe from the Cooper Gang, who you have been conspiring against? And how did you escape from prison, anyways, hmm?" Brian asked Carmelita with a sadistic smile.

"She did not escape, Brian Wingdust," said a more refined and polished voice that appeared from the helicopter. Carmelita's boss. "She was falsely arrested by the Contessa for a crime she hadn't committed with faulty evidence. The Contessa herself admitted that to me," the man said, him looking to be a portly fox of smaller height, but him looking so cool!

"Peh, so the Contessa lied about that? So what? The fact remains that Carmelita did conspire with the Cooper gang two years ago in Krak-Karov Volcano and didn't arrest them. So why should she be allowed to stay on the force?" Brian asked, me finally having enough and jumping in front of Carmelita, letting my invisibility go.

"Maybe it's because we saved her fucking life from being gassed to death by Clockwerk?! Yeah, that may have something to do with why she helped us take out that monster!" I growled angrily, the officers all gasping and aiming their guns at me and me simply holding my hands up.

"YOU! What are YOU doing here?" Brian asked me angrily.

"What am I doing here? Oh, that's a question I'm sure you know very well," I smiled as I got an upload onto my Binocucom in the form of a data mine from Brian's computer at his HQ.

"Oh? And what have we here? Let's play this mix tape I got from your HQ just now," I smiled, the tape playing and the cops listening to it as it began to make the noise.

"I do say, Brian, you aren't really doing too well as my new protoge. I fired Neyla from the Klaww gang and hired you on as you were more devious than she. But if you can't come up with the Clockwerk parts in time, then I will be very unhappy," said the voice of Arpeggio.

"I know, Arpeggio, but that Diavola is a right pain in the neck. She escaped from prison twice and is now in the Contessa's castle. I plan on double-crossing the Contessa to get her Clockwerk Eyes and then steal the rest of the Cooper Gang's Clockwerk parts at some point in the future. I just need more time," Brian's voice said next, the cops all glaring their eyes at Brian and his face going from snarky and sadistic to a frown that could only be described as an 'oh shit' expression. "Uh... Think fast!" Brian yelled as he threw down something that I gasped at. It was a flash bomb! I barely had time to shield my eyes before the bright flash of light happened... and when it did, I felt my brain snap. Anger fueled my entire being right now! And someone had to pay!

"RRRRRAARRGHHH!" I yelled angrily and furiously, finding Brian among the scuffle and smacking my cane directly into his middle left arm, him yelling in agony as I then yelled a different line this time. "FALCON-PPPUUNNNCCHH!" I yelled angrily, my punch actually erupting in flames like Captain Falcon as Brian was sent flying off into the distance and into the waters of the rivers of Prague!

"Rgh... grrggh..." I growled angrily as I heard the cops come from behind me and I saw Carmelita get in between me and them.

"What are you doing, Fox?" the captain of Interpol asked.

"I know it's not my place, with me being an Interpol officer, but I owe my life to this woman here. Not once she saved me, but twice. The time with Clockwerk was the first time. Just in the past day, however, she saved me again. If it weren't for her attacking the Contessa, she wouldn't have made that call to you clearing my name... I owe her everything. Just this once, let her go. She's had enough wild chases and escapes for one day... and besides, the only reason she just attacked is because of something the Contessa did to her and all the prisoners in her Rehabilitation Center. Now, for the rest of her life, any bright flashing lights will make her angry or furious. She won't even be able to look at sunlight the same way again... all because of her. So if you don't mind, I feel that the Contessa should be arrested while we let Ella Unknown go. But just this once," Carmelita said, me smiling at her.

"Thank you... Carmelita..." I said with a groan as I then wearily made my way down from the towers as I made a call to my friends. "Hey, guys?... Hehe... I need a pick up... The front doors of the castle... get the van... Contessa's in jail... and Carmelita is back on top... I need... sleep... soon," I said with a weary voice. After everything that had happened in the past 30 hours (I wasn't even keeping track anymore, honestly) I needed a well-deserved sleep. I heard the hum of the van appear from the castle gates and I finally felt myself fall asleep in my sister's arms as she came to get me in the van.

"After all that... can you blame her?" I heard Neyla say with a smile. That made me make a slight giggle before I succumbed to the world of dreams.


	24. Thoughtful Theft

**Chapter 24**

I didn't know how long I was asleep for, but I woke up to a smell I loved. Pizza. Pepperoni and cheese pizza. "Mm... any left for me?" I smiled happily as I opened my eyes and saw that Neyla was actually sitting on my torso with an entire 8 cut pizza in her hands, it being kept in a box.

"You'll need to eat up, hon. You've been asleep for an entire day," Neyla said to me, me smirking at her.

"Can you blame me?" I smiled at her as I took a piece of the cheesy, doughy goodness and took a bite of it, me smiling and cooing at the flavor. Not as good as the pizza from that Italian restaurant, but still great.

"We made a rest stop in New York to see if you could get back into action soon. Our next target is Jean Bison, who has four different Clockwerk parts," Neyla said, me smiling at her.

"I see... by the way, where's Sly?" I asked her with a smile.

"Right here," Sly said as he appeared from the door with a smile on his face.

"Sly... I want to ask you something," I said with a smile.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Do you think that... well, I'm just going to come out and say it. Me and Meg are the only humans in this world and we want to make more. We would like it if you could help out," I said, Sly looking confused before his face turned to one of shock.

"You mean... me have sex with you?" he asked, me shaking my head.

"No, not like that. I mean donating your sperm so I can make some more kids. In exchange, I'll make sure that one of the kids is a raccoon so it will continue your legacy when you get old," I smiled at him. Sly smiled at that and nodded.

"I'd be more than happy to help you out, Ella. So... when should I get it done?" Sly asked.

"Anytime would be fine, maybe after we get over to Canada?" I smiled at him, Neyla smiling at me.

"But before that, you need more rest. Okay?" Neyla smiled at me.

"Okay," I smiled at Neyla as I laid back down and continued to eat my pizza happily.

* * *

After I rested up for another whole day, we finally went on our way to Nunavut Bay, Canada to face off with Jean Bison, who I simply called Bison Wearing Jeans to get the whole gang laughing up a riot... but as I expected, the lights of the sun and the snow made me angry as it did to Murray, but only in an annoyance factor. I then moved onto the first task of getting to Bison's cabin with Bentley leading me to the direction of it.

"Wall hooks are all over this area from before Jean Bison took over. Just hook on, lean back, then jump off then to get the maximum altitude," Bentley said.

"Thanks bud," I said, my anger in check thanks to Henriette. I then used invisibility and entered the cabin, getting the attention of the one in the cabin. "Huh?... Eh, rotten kids," Jean groaned as he went to close the door and he began to talk to Arpeggio, me turning on one of the tape recorders Neyla gave me to record the conversation.

While they talked, I got up to the rafters and took detailed photos of the train routes plastered on the walls. Once he did, Jean talked the important stuff.

"I connected the lungs and stomach to each of my Iron Horse trains. Now they'll run all night an' all day without ever needing a refuel! An' no one'll ever know that I keep the blueprints in each of my trophy bass," Bison smiled.

"Seems you're making capital use of your share of the parts. But for now, the Clockwerk Brain stays with me... though when I come around this Friday to pick up the battery, I may be persuaded to give you a peek," Arpeggio said on the speaker phone, me already stealing the blueprints and going out the front door with invisibility, Jean getting annoyed but not saying anything as he closed the door again.

"Must be some thin' wrong with the door... I'm-a gonna need to have someone look into it," I heard him say as I then went to the other cabins, staying invisible and stealing the blueprints from each one effortlessly as Bentley then contacted me. "Now that you have all the blueprints, I need you to go to the trains' gps control center at the top of that mountain. Once you put in the code, I'll have complete access to the train's FPS systems," Bentley smiled.

"And what would the code happen to be?" I asked him.

"It's on the blueprints," Neyla said, me smiling and seeing that there was a series of five numbers all the same on each blueprints, all the same. 12953. "And so you know, it's the date that he got buried alive in snow," Neyla smiled.

"Gonna be honest, I expected more from an old timer like this scallywag," Henriette smiled.

"Couldn't agree more," I smiled back at her as I proceeded to jump up the mountain from the bottom to the top in no time at all. And once I got to the gps systems, I put in the code and Bentley got complete access, me then going back to the hideout with a smile.

"Thanks to Ella and Henriette, we now have the routes to Bison's Iron Horse trains. Each one has a Clockwerk part in the engine, allowing the trains to run endlessly without refueling. Because of this, we only have the option of using a hatch on the caboose while they move, which are currently locked tight. Neyla and Murray will commandeer an ice plane to use denatured spice gas to destroy the caboose hatches. After that's done, I'll have myself and Ruby hop on Iron Horse 1. With some luck we'll have the first Clockwerk Lung in a few hours," Bentley smiled.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk," Meg smiled, me following after her while invisible just in case. And sure enough, after a bit of walking, Inspector Fox showed up.

"Freeze!" Carmelita said to her, me wondering why she was trying to arrest my sister... but then I saw something weird. Her neck had a zipper on it.

"You're not really good with disguises, bud," I smirked as I approached the fake and zipped the zipper down with slow time, revealing who I knew would try to impersonate Carmelita.

"Brian? I didn't know you were a drag queen," I smiled, my sister bursting out into laughter after that while Brian then tackled me to the ground with fury in his eyes.

"You ruined my reputation, you fucking bitch! So now I am going to take away something you like!" Brian growled as he tried to take a knife to my ear, me smiling and slowing down time again to grab the knife and throw it into the freezing waters before then drop kicking Brian onto the ground.

"You'll pay for that," Brian growled as he then pulled something out of his pocket. A wool cap "Think fast," he said, me gasping and barely dodging out of the way just in the nick of time, the hat exploding on contact with the ground, me and Meg in shock at him.

"You... you read the Thievius Raccoonus while you were with us, didn't you?!" I gawked at him angrily.

"Gee, didn't think you'd guess on your first try," Brian said with an evil grin that looked like the Cheshire Cat. "I only got a glimpse at the disguise page and the hat bomb you love to use so much, but I was able to read one page to the full amount, one that you really shouldn't have written down," Brian said, me gasping at that... I didn't think that was a real thing that I wrote down in that book... I thought it was a dream!

"You didn't dare..." I gulped at him.

"Oh, I know all about you to the fullest extent, you cheater. You knew everything in this world already upon arrival, and now I know that I can use your now fragile mind to find out everything I can," Brian said, me hissing at him angrily while Meg glared at me angrily.

"You told me that didn't happen, sis! You just ruined everything!" Meg exclaimed at me angrily, Brian smirking at her.

"By the way, it seems your sister is all brains and no brawn. I do wonder what'd happen if anything... shocking happened to her," Brian said, him readying his shock pistol from his disguise and me gasping.

"NO!" I yelled angrily as I ran right for the shock blast as soon as it exited the pistol and used the raccoon roll to absorb the electrical current... but I suddenly felt angry. Very angry. The electricity was a flashing light after all!

"You are so easy to trick, you bitch," Brian smirked as he then produced a pair of cuffs and slapped them on my wrists faster than I could blink! "Oh, I forgot to mention, I also read the slow time ability," Brian snickered, me trying to bust out of the cuffs, but finding I couldn't bust them apart as they were restricting my arm movements for a banana slammah. "Now, you stay put while I find out everything I can," Brian said to my sister, and she whimpered, but I could see her binocucom blinking red. She gave an SOS signal to the rest of the gang. Brian then produced a small device and turned it on, my head groaning in complete and utter agony, me being unable to grab my brain and me actually hearing Henriette yell in pain as well.

"OOOWW! STOP IT! It's hurting me! OWOOOOWWW!" Henriette yelled angrily in my head, Brian raising his eyebrows as I felt a couple of my thoughts get copied in my brain... and them being about Clockwerk... but just as the first two thoughts escaped my brain, I saw a cane slam Brian right in the face and I saw a hat then land on top of the device, it then exploding afterwards, my brain in severe pain and me feeling something... off... I could no longer sense Henriette in my head.

"H-Henriette? Henriette? Where are you?" I asked as I held my head, hoping she'd respond... and she did... however.

"Oogh... I feel like me head got slammed by a tidal wave," said Henriette from RIGHT NEXT TO ME! She was right next to me in her full depiction from how she looked in the picture in the Cooper Vault! Only this time, she had all her appendages and her eyes were both there... and the other thing? "ACK! I be exposed!" Henriette exclaimed, her noticing that she was completely naked minus the fur. She then immediately went invisible and rushed back to the hideout, me then looking at Brian and seeing he had a sinister smile on him.

"That information... it will be of use to me. So long, bitch," Brian said before he then disappeared with a smoke bomb that covered our field of view completely, me barely able to see anything as he escaped, me growling lowly at the thoughts he managed to steal from my brain.

"Ella, are you okay?" Sly asked me, me sighing and shaking my head.

"Sly?... Remember when I said I came from a different world?" I asked him, Sly nodding at that, my sister getting worried at something, but me deciding to choose my words carefully and still lie subtly. "Well, it turns out that Clockwerk had actually been to my world before... so I knew all about him in that world before I came here... but that butterfly bastard just used hypnosis to steal some of the information I had from me in my head, specifically about Clockwerk," I said, sighing at the lie I made, but knowing the things that Brian now knew. They were very important and I felt that the story would now change drastically because of it.

"What did Brian learn about Clockwerk?" Sly asked, me seeing Meg look at me with a smile, managing to keep my secret and hers intact.

"Now Brian knows of the source of Clockwerk's power, that being a chip hidden in his beak, the Hate Chip. Without it, Clockwerk's body will age into dust... the other thing? If that does happen, there would only be one part that will survive as it is a different material of metal than the rest of his body. His right eyeball. If Clockwerk were to be rebuilt and someone were to merge with the mainframe, Brian is now the one who will benefit the most with that information... from now on, whenever I go out in the field, I either do it with you or Neyla. And Meg, I don't think it'd be safe for you to travel alone either, so if you want to take a stroll for some reason, have Murray go with you, or maybe even Henriette now that she's her own person," I said, Meg smiling at that.

"Understood..." Meg and Sly both said at the same time as I got a message from Bentley. He and Ruby had just stolen the Clockwerk Lung in Iron Horse 1 and were making their way back to the Safehouse. "Let's go back to the Safehouse. We need to tell the others about this," Meg said, me nodding in agreement and going with the duo back to the Safehouse by the docks.


	25. Train Heist and Talon Tales

**Chapter 25**

Once we shared our information to the gang (me feeling bad about lying, but doing it for obvious reasons) and after I got out of the handcuffs thanks to Bentley's smarts, we then decided it'd be best that everyone have a partner when going in the field from now on. "Okay, we already have one lung and now we know to be more careful. But the parts in Iron Horse 2 and 3 will be a bit more difficult to obtain. First, Sly and I will hop aboard Iron Horse Number 2. I'll destroy the aerial defenses so Sly can then make his way through the train to steal the lung in the engine block. Meanwhile, Meg, Henrietta, and Ella will board Iron Horse 3 by using Ella's time stopper technique. Once aboard, Meg will provide cover with an RC chopper while Henrietta and Ella make their way through the Iron Horse to the stomach.

"Uh, me name's Henriette. Not Henrietta, ye know, right?" Henriette asked with a frown, her deciding that she'd look the part of a pirate in the modern day, complete with an eye patch over her right eye, though that was mainly just for show. She also decided that, until she could properly craft one, she'd use one of our stolen weapons as a means of attack. Her weapon of choice? A katana for her right hand and a hammer in her left. She even made small holding compartments for both on her back just like Rioichi would've done with his canes!

"Sorry, just a habit," Bentley said, me then looking at Murray, Neyla, and Ruby. "You guys stay here and make sure the Clockwerk parts stay safe. We don't need Brian getting wise and stealing them while we're gone," I said to them.

"The parts are safe with us, hon. Now go get those metal organs," Neyla said, me smiling and nodding at her as I then rushed out to the train tracks for Iron Horse 3, them being the ones with the handcar. And when it came through, it came through fast! It had to be going at least 60 miles an hour! Once I saw the train's caboose, I activated time stopper and grabbed Meg and Henriette, jumping us to the caboose and having us in the train with no issue at all. "Alright, time to go get an upset stomach," Henriette said, me smiling back at her as we then proceeded through the train, the wind feeling good on my body as it got pushed on us from the speeds the train was going. Once I got to the third car, I saw that Bison was in there and he looked to be making an announcement.

"Attention Iron Horse Number 2 and 3. In case ya'll weren't aware, some lucky varmint got away with the Clockwerk Lung in Iron Horse 1! All the guards on duty have been punished accordingly by the lumberjack code. Keep your axes sharp! We don't need the other trains getting taken out! We have a business to run after all, eh?" Bison said, me smirking at that last word as me and Henriette jumped onto the top of the train car and silently walked across it to the next part, which is where we hit some turbulence as I saw a fighter plane appear from above us, but me and Henriette going invisible just before the plane could lock a missile onto us.

"Whuh?! Dammit! Fine, if that's the way you want to play, I'll have some fun back in the caboose," Brian said from above us, me gasping and getting a message to my sister.

"Head's up, Meg! Mister Wingless is in a fighter plane and is coming to your position! Ready the chopper and defeat him before he gets to you!" I said to her, Meg nodding silently as she then launched the RC chopper (her's being a purple color) and then proceeding to shoot out the thrusters on Brian's plane, me smiling as I heard a couple explosions and then I heard a loud yell from Brian.

"All of you! You are all Diavolas! I will get you! Just you wait!" Brian yelled, me smiling as I heard one more explosion and then I heard Brian yell again. "MAYDAY! MAYDAY! More to the right! Come on! NO!" Brian yelled as I then heard a crash landing from my perspective.

"Whew... that guy almost got to the caboose. Thanks for the warning, sis. You saved me," Meg smiled.

"Nothing to it," I smiled at her as I then proceeded to go to the engine with Henriette, us running unopposed while invisible and us getting the unbolted stomach out of the engine block before then going back to the caboose to pick up Meg. And when we got there, I grabbed her and Henriette, slowed down time, and had us jump off the moving train into the soft patches of snow. And wouldn't you know it, we were right back in the main area, right outside one of the cabins.

"Oh yeah! That was sweeter than root beer float!" Henriette smirked widely as I then led us back to town and I saw the wreckage of Brian's plane. It was just on the outskirts of the bear caves. And what did I see the moment we got to that area.

"AAAHH! Get away from me! I'm not tasty! HELP ME!" Brian yelled loudly, him needing to run for the hills as a giant mama bear was chasing him down the train tracks with fury in her eyes.

"Hehe, that bastard deserved it," I smirked as I then got our group back to the Safehouse and we met up with the others, who managed to get the third of the parts from Jean Bison.

"Alright! We did it!" I smirked widely.

"Yeah, we did! This was a great success!" Sly said with a smile... but I did happen to see two things on the table, me confused by it before Sly gave it to me. It was a syringe of sorts with a white liquid in it while the other was a needle. "And that's for you," Sly said, me blushing heavily at that and Meg glaring at me before I simply explained it to her.

"Look, we need more of our species here if we're gonna be stuck here, Meg. And this serum here will allow the kid to be human regardless of who the parent is. Besides, better to have it be someone like Sly than it to be someone like Muggshot or Brian Wingless," I said, Sly smiling at me.

"Nice to see you still have your humor about you, Ella," Sly said to me with a smile as I proceeded to the bathroom for some privacy... I needed to make more humans, and I knew it'd hurt, but I had to do this now.

* * *

After I did the you-know-what, I then met back with the others in the van and we looked outside. It was the Northern Lights... my eyes glared at the sight of them because, again, bright flashing lights. But then, out of nowhere, the lights started to move directly to the northwest, an obvious trail of dust getting left behind in the process.

"This doesn't seem right. Remember what Arpeggio said in his talk with Bison while we were in his cabin, Captain?" Henriette asked me, me nodding at that.

"Northern Light Battery, spice that makes you angry, and Clockwerk. I have no doubt in my mind that following these lights will lead us to defeating the Klaww Gang and Clockwerk once and for all. Murray? Follow those lights!" I said, Murray smirking at that.

"With pleasure!" he smirked as he floored the gas and put on the hover feature of the van, us zooming across the waters and then to dry land until, about an hour later, we arrived at the lumber camp. And when we examined the trees as well as looked at the lighthouse in the distance, Henriette was gobsmacked.

"These trees were cut down recently... but they don't look like they were used by hacksaws or by any new-fangled tech. No, these were done with one fell swoop... an' I'd recognize these marks here any day," Henriette frowned at the marks that looked like sharp, curved slashes. "No mistake. Bison's here an' he's got the most deadly Clockwerk part, his talons," Henriette said.

"What's so dangerous about the talons?" Sly asked, Henriette grabbing the book from her purse and flipping it to a page that I didn't expect. It was the ancestor of Colonel Reid Cooper, which Henriette said was her grandfather.

"Here's what grandpappy Reid said in the book. 'And indeed, the day I saw the Cooper nemesis for the first time was truly a sight of nightmarish proportions. A beak that could crush through the roof of a temple. Wings as large as an elephant. And vicious talons that were sharp enough to slice through the hardened steel of a giant gate, previously thought to be impenetrable. I fear for the day that the monster known as Clockwerk will face me in battle. Even with my techniques, the monstrous aviator will prove the hardest challenge in my life, my son's life, and his kin's life, for ages to come," the book said, me in awe at the story of a Cooper that didn't really get too much to work with other than a completely broken move.

"So these talons are sharp enough to cut through steel? Then that means that a tree is no problem for them. Jean's probably using the talons to cut down entire acres of forest with little to no effort, each tree needing only one swing to fell with artifacts as deadly as those," Neyla said with seriousness.

"Yeah, and we also know that, on Friday, Arpeggio is planning on stealing a Northern Light battery for the plan to revive Clockwerk. Time is short, as we only have 2 days to get those talons and find some way to board his airship without detection," Ruby frowned.

"Indeed. We need to get to work and quickly," Meg said.

"But first order of business, this lumber camp isn't on any of my maps. We'll need Sly and Ella to go take some recon photos of the area," Bentley said.

"Wait! Before ya go and do that, I have a trick to teach the both of ya," Henriette smirked.

"We're all ears," I smiled as she then went to an ice wall and took her katana, splitting it into two different katanas for her to start climbing the thing with.

"It's Slytunkhamen III's technique! The page went missing for some odd reason between my era and your era! You can split your canes into two smaller ones to climb up walls that have sturdy edges, like ice or rock," Henriette smirked, me smiling at that.

"Cool! Okay, Sly, let's go do some recon," I said, leading him to the areas of the sawmill that looked interesting. I took a picture of a bear and managed to get a ping in my Binocucom when I did so. The radio frequency without a doubt. Meanwhile, Sly took a photo of the saw blades, them being old. I then took a photo of Jean Bison's house while Sly took a picture of one of the local boats.

"Okay, now for the real area of interest. Head for the lighthouse and see if you can find out why the Northern Lights are going directly for it," Bentley said, me nodding and doing so, but the Northern Lights making me growl lowly. I would normally be fascinated by them, but the Contessa's mind control and that spice... it really aggravated me that things I'd think of as beautiful now made me angry just to look at them. We finally got to the Lighthouse and proceeded to shimmy through a small hole at the base, us seeing Jean Bison at the bottom part of the lighthouse with all the different contraptions. I took a photo of the barred door and the battery charger while Sly got some photos of the spinner and of Jean Bison. But then he started to mumble to himself.

"Mm... Come on, Jean. Ya got it in ya. Those Lumberjack Games need some more competition, eh? What would attract the participants?" Bison frowned as he then looked to his staff and I saw his face light up with an idea.

"Bullseye! I'll post the Clockwerk Talons as a trophy! That'll surely get some people comin' in to compete... although, who'm I kiddin', eh? I'm-a-gonna win just like every other year, HAHAHA! Oh, it sure is tough bein' this tough, sure is, yeah," Bison said, me smiling at Sly.

"Let's get out of here and get to the others," I said to Sly quietly, us going out through the hole again and me directly regretting getting out first. Why?

"Well, well, we have some rats snooping around the logging camp today, do we?" said the voice of Brian as he then grabbed me by the hand with a sinister look in his eyes. "Now why would you be spying on Jean Bison? Should I do the same thing as before and see your thoughts? I got plenty more mind control devices where that last one came from," Brian said with a sinister chuckle, me growling at him and simply grabbing him by the neck with one hand and on his curled nose with the other, crushing both with my hands and him choking at that.

"Now listen here, fucking insect. I'm not in a good mood today and it's no thanks to my anger towards beautiful lights thanks to you and that spider bitch. So I suggest you don't test my patience. Get in our way again, and this cane's hook is going right through that head of yours. GOT IT?!" I growled angrily at him, Brian gulping at that and nodding, sweat pouring down his face. "Good, now get out of here before I change my mind about sparing you." I then dropped him on the ground and he breathed in a large gulp of air before hopping into a new plane of sorts and flying off into the distance.

"Whoa... that was pretty scary. You actually had me scared there, Ella," Sly said, me frowning at him with a sigh.

"After what that bastard did to me and all of us, even to the point of having me and Murray be tortured to never look at pretty lights happily ever again? You could say that I could've very easily done the dirty right then and there if I didn't have any morality in my head. I know that killing is wrong, and he is a pathetic lowlife, so I gave him a fair enough warning. If he does interfere with us again, he will not survive that encounter, rest assured," I frowned angrily, us then going back to the Safehouse afterwards.


	26. Lumberyard Tasks and Canadian Games

**Chapter 26**

"Jean Bison has unknowingly thrown down the gauntlet. With the Clockwerk Talons posted as a trophy, we'd be fools not to compete in his Lumberjack games!" Bentley said, Henriette smiling at that.

"Yeah, about that, I've been in a fair bit o' competitions in the past similar to these games. An' if there's one thing I know when competin' in those things, it's that cheating is almost a necessity. Of course, getting caught will net disqualification, but if Jean's competin', he's sure to cheat at his own game without getting penalized. So we'll need a plan of attack," Henriette said, her lying just as well as me right now. She knew of the outcome of the games, but didn't want to give anything away.

"Okay, do you know your way around an axe, Henriette?" Bentley asked, Henriette smiling at that.

"Are ye kidding, mate? I used axes to fell trees long before Bison was born! Used the lumber to patch holes in me ship if she got hurt in cannon fights," Henriette smiled.

"Then we'll have a way of doing that task quite easily. For now, we'll need to focus on finding out where the Northern Light Battery is being kept, as we have no idea where it could possibly be... luckily, there's an RC combat club in a local cabin nearby. All the guards that go there work in the Lighthouse. If we want to find out where the battery is, we go there. Sly and Henriette will go there in disguise to compete in the tournament. In the meantime, Ella and Ruby will need to acquire an eagle's egg for the heist. There should be a nest far across the ice. But with Ruby's levitation and Ella's supreme jumping abilities, you should be able to get it without a sweat," Bentley smiled.

And indeed, we did manage to get the eagle egg without a sweat, allowing Ruby and me to steal some cash from the local guards as well as soMe valuable loot like gold bars, silver necklaces, and even some rubies and sapphires! We then returned to the hideout when everyone was back and we then went over the next set of tasks.

"Thanks to Henriette and Sly's work in the combat club, we now know that the battery is located in a silo by the water's edge, looking out to the southeast of our current location. It'll require serious modification if we're going to shut ourselves in it to stow away onto Arpeggio's blimp. Ella, Meg, and Murray will proceed to the Lighthouse to destroy the collection chamber for the Northern Light Battery so it can't recharge and so that the Northern Lights can shine brightly once again. In the meantime, Sly, Ruby, and I will go out to drain the battery of power using the grapple lines off the local computer-driven boats. If my calculations are right, this plan has a 97 percent chance of success," Bentley smiled.

I then proceeded to the lighthouse through the top hatch while Meg and Murray waited at the base by the entrance. I then went down the spiral staircase and came across a few guards, me taking them out without issue until I finally got to the bottom, me smashing the chair apart for the other two to get inside.

"Thanks, Elle. Just let me at that Northern Light Attractor! It'll be slag in minutes!" Murray said with enthusiasm.

"Not as easy as that, Murray. I'll redirect the energy flow of the charger while you lift up the circuit breaker. That should give Ella enough time to get back to the top of the lighthouse to override the machine from the main generator," Meg said, me smiling at that. I then went up the stairs slightly until they began to work their magic, me then seeing the energy be less powerful, me then climbing up the cables while continuing to look down for the whole way, switching between cables to prevent from getting zapped... but that also meant that my brain was angered as, again, it was bright lights. I then made it to the top and flipped the switch, me sighing a breath of relief when the lights were finally done for.

"We did it! The collection mechanism is overloading!... Wait... Shit! Murray, we need to leave NOW!" Meg exclaimed, me jumping up the ladder and getting out of the lighthouse and me seeing that Meg and Murray were using the footings of the ice flows to escape the lighthouse. And just in time, too, as I saw a huge blast of heat escape from it, melting the ice around the island instantly while also making the lighthouse lose all power.

"Damn... that was close... time to check up on them," I said as I jumped down and followed the duo back to the Safehouse, seeing that Meg got a couple singe marks on her dress and that Murray was completely unhurt, me smiling at that.

"Okay, that was not according to plan... but at least the collection mechanism is gone and the Northern Lights can return to their full beauty again," Meg said, me smiling at her as the other team came in soon after.

"Okay, now to go over the plan. Operation Canada Games is going to be quite difficult. We have 3 different events that we'll be facing Jean Bison in. The Power Chopping contest, the Ice Climbing contest, and the Spinning Log contest. But none of us will be able to match Bison, so in order to win, we'll need to cheat. I've signed up Henriette to be the representative in the Power Chopping contest. Get us a good score and then Bison will take his turn. Ella will then turn invisible and plant the eagle egg in Bison's trousers. The overprotective parents should come by and throw off his axe swing. Next, I've got Sly to go for the Ice Climb contest, as he's the best of the climbers on our team. After we get a good score there, Ruby will use her mojo powers to make it so that Bison loses his grip during the climb, making him fall flat. And finally, Neyla will represent the team in the log spinning contest, but she, Ella, and Meg will all need disguises when they go to compete. Once you finish with the log spinning contest, Ella will then proceed to grease up Bison's legs so he has no chance of winning," Bentley said, me smiling at that... but I knew what'd happen and I didn't like it one bit.

Our group proceeded to the Lumber Jack games by the water's edge, me needing to give Neyla a spare disguise for her to put on so Bison wouldn't recognize her. Me and Meg then disguised ourselves as more rugged animals. I dressed like a lioness (me looking quite sweet in the process) and Meg dressed as a panda, her color scheme looking adorable, even if her body type wasn't the same as a regular panda's.

"Hello, good sir. We humble lumberjacks would like to participate in yer Lumber Jack games," Henriette smiled in her own voice, since Bison hadn't heard her before.

"Think you got whut it takes to win the Clockwerk Talons, eh? Well, I'm sure enough gonna let ya play, so long as ya pay the entry fee," Bison said.

"Would this suffice?" Neyla said with a fake accent as she produced a very pretty jeweled scepter, me smiling as I recognized that it was one of the Contessa's rare treasures.

"Sure enough. Let's begin!" Bison smirked widely as Henriette then took her position at the power chopping place, a thick log in front of her and her holding in axe. "This year's first event is a power chopping contest!... Not like anyone's gonna beat my record, but, go ahead an' try," Bison smiled, Henriette smirking widely at him.

"Oh really, mate? Watch this," Henriette smiled as she took her hand and formed it like a karate hand. I knew what was coming. "CRACKAAAAH CHOP!" Henriette yelled as she slammed her karate chop directly down the log, her hand actually slicing directly through the log in just one fell swing! And Bison was gobsmacked, his mouth open in disbelief.

"Oh mah gawd... That was the most impressive chop I've ever seen! And from a hand, no less!" Bison gawked, the judges then giving her perfect tens across the board. "Now it's my turn," Bison said, me smiling as I then went invisible and got the eagle egg, proceeding over to Bison without a sound and placing the egg in his back pant pocket. And just as he was about to make his first swing, the eagle parent swooped in from above, Bison gasping and getting so surprised, he lost his grip on the axe and it actually landed in the icy cold waters! The judges immediately gave him zeros and Bison growled angrily. "Whut? I think you better rethink them scores, boys. What ya'll intended to give me was perfect tens, RIGHT?!" Bison growled, the judges gulping and giving him tens after that.

"Well, if yer lady friend with the eyepatch can chop through a log without an axe, let's see how you handle a vertical wall of ice!" Bison smirked, Sly then smirking and me smiling at what he did. He used slow time and proceeded to climb up the thing, Jean and me impressed at how quick he looked when he did it, Sly managing to reach the top in only 10 seconds because of the slow time skill! "Impressive! Another brand new record! Now time for me to take a swing," Bison smirked, him then proceeding to the wall and Ruby looking on from our points with her voodoo doll in hand. She then started to hum a bit as Bison began his climb. Just as he was about to jump up a bit higher, he gasped as he suddenly felt his strength fail him, me smirking as he then landed on the ground face-first, him just as confused as the guards. He then tried to climb again, but the damage was done. He didn't make it to the top in the time allotted so the judges gave him an 8, 9, and 6.

"It seems you boys have pulled the wrong cards again. Did I ever tell you the story of last year's judge who mistakenly gave me a score OTHER than ten?" Bison frowned, the judges then giving him tens, though this time, it was reluctantly. "Seems we're tied with only one event to go. Unfortunately for you all, I've saved my toughest event for last. The spinning log contest!" Bison smirked, Neyla proceeding to jump on the logs and beginning to move her legs quickly and efficiently, getting them from log to log easily. She did this for upwards of three minutes before the judges gave her perfect tens.

"You're one lucky kitty, I'll give ya that. But now, watch how a pro does it," Bison said, Murray frowning.

"This is getting nowhere. Jean Bison's got those judges so intimidated, there's no way he can lose!" Murray said, me nodding at that.

"No way we're gonna win if those guys are still there. Now, I'm just making this up on the fly, but how about Ruby uses her powers to lure the guards into that cave right there? And once inside, Bentley, Murray and I tie them up and take their clothes to pose as them?" Sly asked, me smiling at him.

"That sounds like a good plan. But we'll need to move fast," I said, Jean then jumping on the logs and Ruby then using her powers on the guards, them gasping and falling under her trance in an instant. Ruby then led them over to the cave like she were the pied piper and the trio then took their clothes and took their places at the judge's table, Bison not looking in their direction one bit. Once he finished the log rolling, the trio then gave him all 0s, Bison gasping at that.

"WHUT!? I thought I warned you boys about the consequences for incorrect scores!" Bison said, him then sniffing the air and frowning. "Wait a second... YOU AIN'T THE JUDGES I HIRED! It's the scrawny raccoon and his annoying friends! Well if you all want these talons so bad, why don't you just take 'em?!" Bison growled as he then threw the hardened talons directly at the trio, the result being much different than in the game. It actually made Murray's hand get cut up, it punctured Sly's left ear and shoulder, and one of them actually managed to make a slash mark right through the left of Bentley's shell! All of them fell to the ground with blood escaping their bodies and the snow underneath them turning red!

"You BASTARD! You could've killed them!" Henriette yelled angrily from our standpoint, Bison then frowning at our group as he then blew on the bullhorn on his neck, a whole mess of guards appearing from the lumber camp and completely overwhelming our group! "Get these thieves to a little interrogation room in the sawmill. I'm mighty sure they've got a whole mess of parts in that hideout of theirs," Bison said, Henriette gasping and growling angrily.

"You better not think of giving them to Arpeggio, Bison! If he resurrects Clockwerk, the entire world will be destroyed! You and everyone along with it! ALL OF YOU!" Henriette yelled angrily as the guards grabbed all of us by the arms and led us to the sawmill with sacks on our heads.


	27. The Blimp Fiasco

**Chapter 27**

It took awhile for our group to get our sacks off of our heads, but I soon saw that we were all in the control room for the sawmill. And shortly after I was able to see again, the guards shut us in the place tight with the large steel door. I didn't care about that, though. I immediately went to my friends, me breathing a sigh of relief that Bison was kind enough to heal their wounds slightly. Sly had a bandage on his ear, same with Murray having gauze on his hand where the cut happened. And as for Bentley and his shell? It had stopped bleeding completely and they patched up the slice on his shell with a metal plate of sorts, held together by a duo of screws.

"Bentley, you okay?" I asked, getting him off the ground first, him groaning slightly as he came to.

"Ogh... my aching head... those talons really pack a punch," Bentley groaned.

"Your head is the least of your concerns, Bentley. Those talons sliced clean through part of your shell... but it looks like Bison helped you out. See, there's a metal plate where the slice was," Meg said, Bentley sighing in relief at that. I then saw Sly and Murray recover their senses, them being surprised at the bandages they had, Henriette frowning at the place.

"This ain't good, mates... you probably didn't hear Bison, but he said he'd sell all our parts to Arpeggio... we need to bust out of here... Ella! What's the time say on that techno gadget you got?" Henriette asked, her referring to my cell phone. I looked at it and gasped. Time flew by! It was 7 AM on Friday!

"We need to escape quickly! Bentley, you get out through this pipe here, as you're the only one of us small enough to get out it. Ruby, you, me and Murray will work the door here to try and get it open," I said.

"Of course!" Ruby said as she and Murray helped me begin to destroy the door with our talents.

"Hippow!" Murray yelled.

"Banana Slammah!" I exclaimed.

"Hick, Boom, HEY!" Ruby shouted, us all attacking the door with either punches or mojo magic, the door actually bending at the combined effort from us! Bentley then started talking to Sly through the walkie-talkie.

"Sly, I got out... Bison..." Bentley said, me and the duo of allies attacking the door once again.

"Banana Slammah!"  
"Hippow!"  
"Hey, Boom, HICK!" We all yelled, the door actually getting cracked apart slightly!

"THAT'S IT! Time I showed you just how 'stew-pid' we turtles really are! Sly, on my command!" Bentley said, me smirking as I attacked the door again with the others.

"FALCON PUNCH!"  
"HIPPOW SLAM!"  
"VOO! VOO! DOO!" we all yelled angrily as we attacked the door one more time, it finally smashing apart, me then motioning all of us to escape, but Sly stayed behind to help Bentley out.

Our group then got down to the battlefield ourselves, just as Bison was bringing out the dynamite! Before he could throw a piece of it, I grabbed it out of the air and threw it back at him, Bison gulping as the dynamite exploded right in his face, him coughing a bit and me seeing he got a bit bloody from that. And he looked to be scared of our group appearing to him.

"Looks like you're surrounded, Bison. Guys, want to prove to him not to mess with the Cooper gang?" Bentley smiled at us.

"With pleasure, mate!" Henriette smirked as she then took her hammer and jumped above Bison, smacking him in the skull with a dive attack! Murray then sucker punched him after the blow from Henriette while Ruby made Bison shocked with some voodoo magic. I then finished the job by smacking him right in the gut with a swipe from the cane and then used my signature move.

"BANANA SLAMMAH!" I yelled as I punched him right in the gut, Bison gasping out an exasperated breath as he then fell to the ground with a cough.

"Tarnation! I've been done in by a four-eyed turtle, a fat hippo, an' three girls?... Times have changed..." Bison groaned.

"Quite right, Bison. It's the 21st century. You need to learn that the hard way," I smirked at him as I threw a penny over to him. One that was brand new, it having the year of 2006 on it.

"Uh... attention, Jean Bison. Arpeggio's carrier blimp will arrive to pick up the Northern Light Battery in exactly one minute," one of Bison's men said, me then looking at the group and motioning us out the door, us only talking once we were out of earshot of Bison.

"We need to book it, guys! That blimp's on its way!" Meg said with worry, all of us rushing down the path to the silo containing the battery, us making it there in 30 seconds and us piling into it soon after. The moment we shut ourselves inside, we only had five seconds left, the entire world around us becoming completely black. We couldn't see a thing other than the whites of our eyes. And then, the bump happened.

"Whoa!" Neyla gasped as she fell directly into my lap, me sighing and helping her back into seated position as everyone came to terms with what happened.

"We've failed, haven't we?" Ruby asked, her frown contagious to the rest of us. Sly's leg twitched in response as Bentley tried to think of a strategy. Neyla looked at me with eyes of concern while Murray looked out towards the hideout and produced tears of despair. The van sailed across the water on a broken chunk of ice.

"The van... my baby..." Murray sobbed.

"Murray... it'll be alright... she's with the great blue right now. It's the perfect sendoff to our most loyal member," Henriette said, Murray stifling a sob at that and sniffing in a booger.

"I know..." Murray said, me then looking at the others as Meg got on the laptop of thief net and looked up the stuff she needed to.

"Okay, we need to discuss Arpeggio... we need to learn about him before we spring into action and get out of this battery," Meg said with seriousness, Bentley agreeing and us looking up Arpeggio.

"A very studious young boy, the young Arpeggio excelled in all classes... but his body never managed to catch up in size with the other boys. As a result, he could never achieve the dream of flight, as his small wings were useless for it. Furious at this realization, he used his genius mind to try to find a cure, looking to the renaissance masters. It wasn't long before he founded the Klaww Gang as the chief inventor... there's no doubt in my mind that he put this whole plan into place to get Clockwerk revived back to his former glory. And now that he has all the parts, it's only a matter of time before he puts them all together... and we won't let that happen. Who's with me?" Meg asked.

"Agreed wholly. Come on, Neyla and Sly. We're going to take out little Polly, no crackers included," I said, Sly smirking at that and Murray smiling through the tears.

"You always know just what to say, Ella," Murray smiled as he hugged me, which made me smile.

"You're welcome, Murray. Now let's head out," I said, motioning our trio out to the area where Arpeggio was rebuilding Clockwerk. We needed to be careful when moving across the blimp as we were quite high up in the air and one slip could end up with our deaths. We finally found the area in the side blimp, our trio jumping and using our Paragliders to jump over to the area, us going through the air vent of the smaller side blimp and Neyla gobsmacked as was Bentley in our Binocucoms when we saw it. Clockwerk was completely put back together, though still immobile and being held together by giant spinning magnets.

"Oh my god... they were able to put Clockwerk back together this quickly?!" Neyla gasped.

"I think I have an idea on how to proceed, Neyla. We'll need to go up to those magnets and reverse their polarity. It may just be enough to pull the parts apart," I said with a smile.

"Okay, that sounds like a good plan. We should avoid the guards, however... wait, what's this?" Sly asked as he looked underneath us to see the large mech eggs.

"Those are Arpeggio's mech eggs. Back when I was still working for him, he said that they would help out in keeping Clockwerk reassembled if he got all the parts. It'd be wise to leave them alone," Neyla said, me smiling at that as I then went up to the first of the magnets and, while they were still going fast, I reversed its polarity with slow time, me then doing the same with all the other magnets, my eyes regretting it as they started to brightly flash red, which made my anger come into play. And then, once all of them were done, Clockwerk's body fell to the ground, but as I expected, the parts got locked into place as a giant explosion sound happened from the giant frame colliding with the ground, that managing to knock out the guards and get the attention of Arpeggio and a certain wingless asshole from the front of the ship.

"What's all this then? The magnets... have been reversed?! But... By Jove! It's actually locked the Clockwerk parts into place! Excellent!" Arpeggio said happily as I then jumped down directly in front of him with my other friends appearing as well, me actually managing to get a jump from Arpeggio.

"Ella Unknown?! Sly Cooper, and the one I replaced, huh? Should've guessed this was your doing, Diavola," Brian Wingdust said angrily.

"Ah, you probably thought a reversal of the magnets would pull the old bird apart, eh? Well, it seems to have had quite the opposite effect. Now I shall join myself with its circuits to begin life anew!" Arpeggio said, me frowning at him.

"Look, we already know your big plan, asshole. And let me tell you something. If you fuel Clockwerk's immortality with normal people's hate, you won't be able to keep in control. Your hate will consume you and you'll start destroying the entire world! Do you want to have immortality if it means the rest of the world suffers the price?" I asked him angrily, the lights making me angered.

"Ah, you seem to have been affected by the Contessa's hypnosis, haven't you?" Arpeggio asked, me snarling at him. "Well, if what you say is true, you couldn't possibly have any kind of proof to back it up. So I'm going to go for it anyways. Brian, dear, be a good boy and keep them covered. Ta-ta," Arpeggio said, him about to go forward to the Clockwerk frame before Brian then kicked his mobile cage over with one kick!

"HAH! Stupid bird! You really think I'd let you have this body when this bitch here took my wings from me?! You really are more idiotic than Neyla is," Brian said, Neyla gasping and snarling as Brian then jumped into Clockwerk's open mouth and I saw his body completely dissolve down the throat of the beast... Clockwerk's body then began to move as Arpeggio spoke.

"This is preposterous! You're my protege! Not the next in line for MY immortality! Now I demand you exit the Clockwerk frame or... Or..." Arpeggio said, me deciding to do something daring. I activated slow time just before Brian could kill Arpeggio, his beak wide open as I stopped it in place with my strength, it being caused by both my anger at the lights and from me getting tougher from all those Bone Cracker Crush attacks I'd been doing! I actually managed to hold back the giant Clockwerk beak as Arpeggio gawked at my strength.

"Don't just sit there like a wet noodle! GET GOING! I can't hold it off for long!" I yelled at Arpeggio, him gasping and hopping from his machine over to Neyla and Sly, me then activating Time Stopper and jumping up to the top of the Clockwerk head. "BANANA SLAMMAH!" I yelled loudly as I slammed my fist directly into the noggin of Clockwerk, Brian exclaiming stuff angrily as he then got up and I saw that my hit actually hurt his body pretty bad.

"GAGH! You bitch! I'll kill you all!... But only after I get more power!" Brian growled angrily as he then slammed his body through the front glass window, me looking at the others with a frown.

"Okay, Arpeggio, now that I saved you from becoming giant bird food, I'd suggest you cooperate with us to defeat Brian Wingless," I frowned, Arpeggio sighing and putting his tiny wings on his head.

"Oh... ugh, fine. I shall assist you in taking out that backstabbing butterfly gone rogue! In order for him to get more powerful, he'll need to draw power from the engines that keep this blimp aloft. I can lead you all to the main control center to turn off the main engines to make him weaker while also turning off the autopilot. That should prevent this blimp from making its way to Paris. Then it'll be up to you to find out how to defeat the giant bird in battle," Arpeggio said, Bentley then getting on the horn afterwards.

"Actually, believe it or not, I just got a radio signal from Carmelita. She said that she's commandeered a helicopter with a tail gun on it. You'll need to get the radio towers turned on so she can get to your location. I'll get Henriette to get them turned on while you get Arpeggio to help you get the engines turned off," Bentley said, me nodding at that.

"Okay, Arpeggio. Let's go," I said, him being a bit hesitant as Sly put him on his shoulder.

"I cannot believe that I have lost my chance to get a bigger body for better flight..." Arpeggio said with a sigh.

"Um, haven't you ever heard of thief net?" I asked him.

"Thief net? You mean that secret website that thieves use to get weapons? I would get on that site, but I don't know how to find it," Arpeggio said, me smiling as I talked to Bentley.

"Hey, Bentley? Get on thief net, would ya? Maybe see something on there that could allow Arpeggio some means of flight?" I asked, the bird gasping at that as we proceeded back through the vents to the outside of the blimp.

"According to what this site says, there is actually a couple of options. Some extendable wings that can be used like normal wings, a backpack that has a propeller in it with unlimited fuel, and even a jet pack, but it happens to have limited fuel," Bentley said, Arpeggio smiling at that.

"And how much would the normal wings happen to cost? I'd be willing to make amends if I could get the wings," Arpeggio said.

"They cost 1500 coins. Would you happen to have any treasures that could be worth that much?" Meg asked.

"Why yes, of course. I have three different treasures across the ship. One is in the top right most part, another in the top left most part, and the final one in the bottom portion in the front of the blimp. Altogether, they cost 2400 coins. So only 2 would be able to purchase those wings," Arpeggio said, me looking at Sly and Neyla with a smile.

"Then it looks like we're going to do three jobs. Ruby, Sly, and Neyla will go to get these treasures. I'll go with Arpeggio to the main control center of the blimp, and Henriette will activate the different radio towers. Let's do this!" I said with a smile.


	28. Brian Turned to Wingdust

**Chapter 28**

Arpeggio led me to the main area of controlling the blimp, which just so happened to be in the center of the ship, at the bottom-most portion. He opened a secret hatch and led me inside, me seeing a ton of buttons and wires surrounding me. "Whoa, not what I expected," I said in surprise as Arpeggio hopped off my shoulder and began to flip multiple switches, me smirking as I heard the blimp begin to turn off bit by bit, including the autopilot, which caused the blimp to just hover in place with no way to stop it.

"There, that should do it. Now do be careful when facing that backstabber? This blimp is prohibitively expensive," Arpeggio said.

"I'll try to prevent the blimp getting hurt. But Brian may not be as kind to this marvel of engineering as we would," I said as I led Arpeggio out of the area and I saw the antenna above us glow brightly from the towers being turned on. I then led Arpeggio back to the main area where I met up with Sly, Neyla, Ruby, Henriette, and Carmelita, all of us looking at each other with smiles.

"Okay, Sly, for once let's cut the flirty chit-chat and get down to business. I need an experienced tail gunner. Hop aboard with your friends and get ready. We've got a bird to take down," Carmelita said.

"And that's not flirty chit-chat?" Sly smirked, me smiling at him as we all piled into the helicopter and Carmelita looked surprised by Arpeggio joining us, but I eased her mind.

"He's agreed to make amends once we defeat Brian," I said, Sly beginning to shoot at Brian's new, giant body with the turret, us having some close calls from missiles and electrical rings until I saw the wings get roasted horribly and the head looked to have some damage as well.

"You should've been a cop! That was impressive!" Carmelita said, Brian then, in his anger, dive-bombing into the central propellers, the entire blimp beginning to explode and Arpeggio to snarl angrily at Brian.

"Um, guys, we have a problem! Brian's extremely agitated... and he's taking it out on us! HELP!" Meg exclaimed as I saw Brian hook onto the battery my sister, Bentley, and Murray were in before taking off, me then jumping out of the helicopter with Sly while the others stayed behind.

"You guys get out of here so you don't get hurt by the debris. We're going after Brian and saving our family!" Sly said, me smiling at that as we then proceeded to jump our way across all the various gaps of nothing but clouds, Bentley and the others scared for their lives as I finally reached Brian's wings with Sly.

"You want a piece of this? Don't worry, there's plenty to go around!" Brian said angrily.

"You may have a new body, Brian, but we're going to defeat you for hurting us this much for no reason other than your own selfish needs!" I growled at him angrily as I then proceeded to slash at his giant head with my cane, Sly joining in the fray as we pelted him with the metal tips until, finally, the body started to fall down the rest of the way, us actually appearing in the middle of Iceland's mountainous rivers! But just before he could collide with the ground, I activated Time Stopper, grabbed my friends both on Brian's back and in the battery, and had us land without a scratch while Brian's body laid in a crumpled heap.

"We... we did it!" Sly gawked.

"RIGHT ON!" Murray smiled.

"It's an emotional moment," Bentley said before Brian yelled angrily again.

"DIE INSECTS, DIE! My hate shall smash you!" he yelled angrily, me leading the group behind some of the fallen debris to get out of reach of Brian's lasers.

"Okay, guys, real strategy time now. Clockwerk's body is powered by something called the Hate Chip. We need to get it and destroy it to finally be rid of Clockwerk!" I said with seriousness.

"Then let's go! I'll go to that beak and do a little open-head surgery!" Murray yelled as he jumped over the various lasers and then started to pry open the beak with his strength, a holographic image of Brian appearing from it, proboscis and all.

"I HATE YOU ALL! I will kill all of you while you sleep! Especially you, human scum! I am the Alpha and the Omega, Clockwerk!" Brian yelled angrily, Bentley then destroying the source of the lasers with huge-ass bombs! Brian then yelled angrily at that. "YOU WILL NEVER WIN! EVER!" Brian yelled angrily as the chip appeared from the throat, Bentley going in and stealing it.

"Let's get out of here! It's about to explode!" Bentley yelled as Brian then did one last thing. He closed the beak of Clockwerk while Bentley was still inside, crushing him on his back! "GAAGH! HELP!" Bentley yelled, Murray gasping and prying open the head again.

"I... can't walk!" Bentley groaned, Murray picking him up and all of us rushing away as Clockwerk's body exploded, the bright flash actually making me mad again, but not too much. It was as if... when Clockwerk was destroyed, I felt no anger... neither did Murray. No. What we felt was relief.

Carmelita soon appeared from the helicopter with the rest of our gang and Sly produced the Hate Chip as Carmelita needed to take her anger out on something. She then did the dirty and slammed her foot down on the Hate Chip, the device shattering to bits as I swore I could hear the sound of Brian's anger sound from it as Clockwerk's body, minus one of the eyes, aged to dust right in front of our very eyes. Honestly, seeing the metal revert to a shriveled mess before finally turning into dust was one of the most satisfying things ever... but then the eye started to glow red, me knowing what it meant already, me approaching it and placing it inside of a small miniature safe, me actually hearing Brian cussing me out after I did this.

"Here, Carmelita. Take this safe and place it somewhere that no one in their right mind will ever think to find it. My advice? Down into the deepest, hottest volcano you can find, preferably one that's filled to the brim with the hottest magma imaginable," I frowned at her.

"Of course," Carmelita frowned as she put the small safe in her pocket... and then? "Okay, enough games. You're under arrest, Cooper gang," Carmelita frowned, me looking at our group as did Sly and we sighed.

"Look, Carmelita. This isn't really the best time. Do you really think that we'd want to have a chase after what just happened? Look at Bentley. Look at Murray. Look at all of us. We're tired, exhausted, and we have had quite enough for one day. Can't you let us go just one last time?" I asked, Carmelita sighing at us.

"Everyone but Cooper. I want to have some kind of reward after all this," Carmelita said, Sly looking at me and simply sighing.

"Fine, I'll go with you. Everyone else should go back to the hideout. I'll get out on my own at some point, I'm sure," Sly said, Murray then taking off his gear and doing the same for Bentley as he requested. And Neyla? She left her bonnet on the ground, something that truly shocked me. But not as much as Ruby leaving behind one of her voodoo dolls and Arpeggio discarding his monocle. And Henriette? She left behind her katana and hammer... and me, not wanting to be outdone, left behind one more thing. A watch. Not just any watch, though. It was the watch I had on my wrist when I first entered this world. It had been long busted from all the combat I'd been in, but I still kept it in remembrance of back home. But after this adventure, it was painfully obvious to all of us, me and Meg especially, that there was no chance in hell that we'd make it back home.

But I wasn't done yet. Once I got out of sight, I turned invisible and looked at the others with a smile. "You guys go on ahead. I'll help out Sly," I said, Meg smiling at me.

"That's Ella Unknown for ya," Meg said with a small smile, her being the one to carry the treasures Arpeggio had on his ship.

"Make sure you sell those treasures and then get Arpeggio the wings he wants. Once I bust Sly out, then we'll meet back up back at the hideout in Paris," I said, me then rushing back while invisible to see Carmelita and her boss talking with Sly in cuffs and being led to the helicopter. I then made it inside the copter and took up position in the pilot seat, Carmelita none the wiser from my disguise as I then lifted our copter off of the ground and then made sure to have it go in circles like in the game. I then smiled as Carmelita and Sly began to relax and talk about the adventures they had and about things they had in common. They included certain tastes in books, music, and they even liked the same art... but of course, Sly was talking about how he stole them because he liked them, but Carmelita didn't care. She actually smiled at all the tales Sly said. It made me happy that she was having fun with Sly for a change as she then produced the bottle.

"This sparkling cider is my precious treasure... I've been saving it for a toast in honor of arresting you specifically," Carmelita said and then Sly clued in that we had been going in circles because he saw the same mountain pass by twenty times. Carmelita then looked at her watch before making her way to the cockpit, me smiling at her as she looked at me in confusion.

"W-Who are you?" she asked.

"Pay no attention to the unknown creature piloting the plane," I said with a smile, Carmelita gasping when she heard my voice and I then pointed behind her. "Look, your boyfriend's up to no good again," I smiled, Carmelita gasping at Sly as he got out of the cuffs and got the cider, him then paragliding out of the chopper and me to smile at Carmelita yelling at him.

"I'll find you Cooper!" Carmelita shouted at him before she looked at me with a smile. "Okay, you had your fun, Ella, now would you kindly get out of that ridiculous disguise and get off my chopper?" Carmelita smiled.

"Can do... oh, and by the way, I'm serious about you two being in love. Just admit it, you two were made for each other. Bye," I smiled as I hopped out afterwards, Carmelita then taking the helm of the helicopter and flying off in the distance, me wondering if she'd listen to what I'd just said.


	29. 3 Months Until McSweeny

**Chapter 29**

After Sly and I got out of the helicopter, we actually met up with the others at the airport, where we actually saw Arpeggio had gotten his brand new extendable wings and that they worked quite nicely. He was flying all over the place and loving every bit of it. It honestly made me happy that he had a new lease on life now.

"Where's Bentley?" Sly asked.

"He's being looked at in the airport infirmary. This airport is actually both for flying and it's a hospital," Neyla said, me smiling at that as a doctor then appeared and I looked at him with a small smile.

"So, doc? What's the verdict on our turtle friend?" I asked, the doctor sighing and shaking his head.

"I'm afraid the injuries to his spinal cord are far too severe to treat regularly. And given that he's a reptile, it'd be too risky to use anesthetics to operate on him. I'm sorry..." the doctor said, all of us producing some tears at that and Murray taking it the worst, him actually falling to his knees in anguish. He felt the pain the worst of all of us.

"Murray..." Henriette said with sorrow in her voice too.

"It's all my fault..." Murray said.

"No, it's not," I said, patting him on the back, him sobbing at that some more. We then picked up Bentley from the infirmary in his brand new wheelchair and we proceeded to the plane... it was going to be a long ride back home. And Arpeggio, after bidding his farewell, proceeded to fly off into the distance with his new wings.

* * *

Once our group made it back to Paris, we returned to our hideout where Bentley decided to make some adjustments to his chair... Murray, however, did something different. He left his stuff behind and said he needed to go out on his own to find himself. He was going to the outback, that much I knew. And in the meantime, a few months later, after doing numerous small jobs, we happened upon a strange note that was on our desk. It was a note that I was confused at.

"Look at this, guys... It says, 'Cooper, meet me in Italy's maximum security prison. Important information awaits. Sincerely, McSweeny'," I read the note aloud.

"McSweeny? Who's he supposed to be?" Sly asked.

"On it," Meg said as she typed on the thief net computer and eventually found his information. "Okay, it says that he's a former brute that was the muscle in one of the most famous gangs in the old times. He's currently held at that prison for his life sentence, which he actually volunteered to do after his original gang disbanded... oof... and get this. A lot of our former adversaries are locked up there. Rajan, Contessa, Raleigh, even Jean Bison!"

"Looks like he wants to really meet me, then. You want to come with, Ella? You know, just in case it's a trap?" Sly asked.

"Sure. You guys stay here and look after things. I'm heading to this prison with Sly," I said with a smile.

"Be careful, captain. I don't like the sounds of this," Henriette said with a frown.

The ride over was a bit longer than I would've liked, but Sky and I soon got to the prison, our bodies cloaked in disguises as we went inside the prison proper. But the prisoners we recognized started to kick up the noise inside as we passed by each of their cells.

"You! Got that penny out of me, bitch! Get over here so I can readjust your face!" Contessa growled at me angrily.

"Got over here, you vile woman! I'm sure to git yer heart pumpkin'," Bison growled at me.

"Just shut up," I groaned at their riotous behavior as Sly and I then made it to McSweeny's cell, him looking just as the game depicted. A giant walrus with huge muscles and one of his tusks half broken.

"Who're you?" he asked with a growl.

"We got your message at our hideout, McSweeny," I said with a smile as Sly and I let down our disguises for a brief few moments before the guards saw us. Then we put them on again as McSweeny smiled.

"Okay, you must be Conner's boy an' you're that Ella Unknown girl that these losers keep blabbering about, right?" McSweeny asked, me smiling at that.

"On the money with that one," I smiled as I produced a penny and tossed it to him. "So what'd you call us down here for?" I asked politely.

"Well, I've been meaning to contact you for awhile now, but didn't want to do it until Clockwerk was gone. And considering these guys never shut up about you all getting them parts and me hearing that you defeated him for good? I decided to contact ya then and there to give you some invaluable information," McSweeny smirked as he then gave Sly and me something I smiled at. A map to an island with the Cooper moniker.

"What's this?" Sly asked.

"That, young Sly Cooper, is the map to Kaine Island, home to your ancestors' fortunes they have acquired over the millennia, your father included. Every Cooper in history has added to the fortune and only a Cooper is able to open that golden lock," McSweeny said with a smile.

"How can only a Cooper open it?" Sly asked.

Two things are required. First is that you have to have the Cooper blood in yer veins. Second, one of the canes crafted from the metals in Krak-Karov volcano, forged for Coopers, by Coopers. If ya ask me, you, Sly are the only one able to open that vault. Your friend here, however? She ain't no Cooper by blood," McSweeny said.

"Yeah, you got me there, bud. But you didn't see one thing, though," I smiled as I lifted me shirt a bit to show him something special. My baby bump, it being from Sly.

"Hoho! So yer carryin' the next in line, eh? Didn't think ya had it in ya, Cooper," McSweeny smiled at Sly, him smiling in embarrassment.

"Well, it is my DNA, but I'm not going to be the one taking care of it. It belongs to Ella and her fiance. I just supplied the means of donating you know what," Sly said.

"So who's the lucky guy?" the walrus man asked, me blushing at that.

"The lucky GIRL is Neyla," I said, the Klaww gang behind me then laughing their asses off before I grabbed the hat on my head. "Wanna laugh at me? I got a hat bomb and a banana slammah for the next chuckle among you," I snarled, all of them shutting up at that.

"Hehe, being able to shut up the whole prison ain't an easy feat. You're sure to do well being Sky's partner in crime, same with the little one in your tummy right now when he or she gets out," McSweeny smiled.

"Thanks, bud... okay, Sly, time to get going," I smiled, us heading back thanks to a technique Neyla taught me during our couple months off. The warp hole technique that she would've used in the third world of the 2nd game, but fate was tweaked big time. The only downfall to the technique was that it had a 30 minute cool down after each use. Once Sly and I returned to the hideout, Henriette looked at what we had in our hands and she gasped.

"I-Is that... Is that?! It's just gotta be! Gimme!" Henriette said with eagerness, her ringtail twitching all over the place as Sly gave her the map and she looked all over it and sniffed the edges, her gasping afterwards. "It is! The map to Kaine Island! Where'd ye get it, captains?" she asked us, me smiling at her.

"We got it from one of Sly's dad's former partners. He's the one that left the note," I said, Meg on the computer and me seeing something pop on the screen and her then getting our attention.

"You may want to rethink heading out to Kaine Island, guys. Look at this," Meg said as she showed the area of Kaine Island. It looked just as the game described it, but I didn't tell it to Henriette while she was still in my head. I didn't want to give everything away after all.

"Whoa, that's a pretty heavily fortified island. Not even Clockwerk had this much security," Ruby gulped at the giant mess of barbed wire, stone walls, massive turrets, and the numerous drills and lasers that kept failing to get at the Cooper Vault.

"That vault is pretty sturdy if it still hasn't been busted into even with all that stuff attacking it," Neyla smiled widely.

"That's because McSweeny said that to open the vault, two things are required. One is the Cooper cane, crafted by the same metals used by Clockwerk in Krak-Karov Volcano, such as mine and Ella's canes which were previously owned by my father and mother respectively," Sly said. "And second, the only one who can open up the vault's lock is someone of Cooper blood. So Ella wouldn't be able to do so unless she were married to me."

"Not happenin'," I smiled as I wrapped my arm around Neyla's waist with a smile while also stroking her tail with my other hand, Neyla gasping and purring at that. She loved to purr at my touch, much like any other cat.

"Okay, so we have the Cooper Vault on Kaine Island with security tighter than Fort Knox. And who's the one who added all the security?" Bentley asked. Meg then did some more typing and found the name of the person as well as all the detailed plans for the fortress.

"His name is Doctor M. Real name, **Mandrake** **Malone**. He has been trying to crack the Cooper Vault for over 20 years, growing more and more insane and furious with each passing month the vault is sealed. If we're going to get at the wealth within this vault, we'll need more people than the ones we got now. I mean, sure we have 3 different Coopers, a stealthy tigress, two genius hackers with one being an explosives expert, and a mystic, but that won't be near enough. We need much more firepower to attack this vault... it's painfully obvious. We need Murray back on the team," Meg said with a frown.

"But would he even want to come back? And where would he be, anyways? He left to an unknown area and hasn't even sent back so much as a letter," Neyla asked with a frown.

"Well, just a quick search will give us the information we need," Meg said as she searched thief net for Murray's whereabouts and eventually tracked him down. "Okay, got it. He's apparently been on a walk around the globe as part of the training for the Aboriginal Dreamtime. And his last known location, that being three days ago, was in Venice, Italy, the city of rivers, gondolas, and disgusting water," Meg smiled.

"How would you know?" Sly smiled.

"Back in our world, our version of Venice had the plumbing go straight into the river systems. So if you happened to fall out of the gondola or you happened to drink directly from the water, you would get very, very ill and need at least ten baths a day for three days to get all the gunk off of you," I smiled.

"You're exaggerating again, aren't ya, captain?" Henriette smirked at me.

"She is, but only a little bit. That's the messed up part," Ruby smirked, me kind of expecting she'd read my mind right there.

"Let's get over to Venice, then... aw, crap, if we would've had that information earlier, then we could've just warped you guys over there with us," I frowned as I smacked my face.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up. We need to get our friend back on the team. I really miss him," Bentley said, me smiling and nodding.

"I think that would apply to all of us," I said with a nod.

"Agreed. Let's head out," Neyla smiled, our group then proceeding out to the nearest passing train heading to the south and hopped aboard the side cars. We were on our way to the first level of the game, Opera of Fear... and it was honestly one of my favorites!


	30. Murray in Italy

**Chapter 30**

After another long taxi ride to Italy, our group decided to make a Safehouse out of an abandoned building by one of the bridges, which was actually just as the game said we'd be going to. We then got to thinking on where Murray may be kept at.

"Given Murray's criminal past with us, maybe we should check out the Venetian police station? If he's not already in prison, they should have profiles on all the thugs in Venice," Bentley said as Meg then was typing on her computer with a frown.

"Just be careful when on the streets, guys. There are numerous guards patrolling the town that all work for a single Don Octavio, a lion that is the leader of a mobster gang. He's advertising an opera on the first day of carnivale and his guards attack anyone on the street that aren't Venice residents," Meg said.

"Understood. Neyla, Sly, come with," I said, leading our trio to the area that would look over to the police station, me getting a call from Bentley then.

"That large dome marks the Venice police station," Bentley said.

"Cops around here really like to make an impression," Sly smiled with his quick wit.

"Sadly, they may not be too helpful. For now, let's focus on getting inside... that roof has a ventilation shaft that leads down to the prison areas of the place. That may be our best bet at finding Murray," Neyla said.

"Okay, then let's get going. This way leads us to a rope to walk on," I smiled, our trio heading in that direction and going up the rope and over the water until we reached the dome, me trying to squeeze me and my baby bump through, and me surprised I could do it, but just with a few inches of clearance.

"Oof, this little tyke might make it harder to crawl in these holes," I said with a frown.

"It'll only get bigger as the dates go by, so you'll need to adjust," Neyla said, me nodding at that. We then managed to get into the cell block and we saw the shadowy figure in the cell.

"Hey, Murray? Is that you?" Sly asked with a hush in his voice.

"Huh? Is that who I thinks it is?" the shadow asked as he emerged into the light, it being Dimitri full and through.

"Cooper and Unknown Ella? You've got fuzzy dice to come around here," Dimitri said with a frown.

"Long time no see, Dimitri," Neyla sighed.

"I see you brought along your cracker-box feline for the ride," Dimitri frowned.

"Less name calling, more kind talking, please? We need to ask if you've seen Murray? You know, our pink hippo friend?" I asked as I showed him a picture of Murray without his mask.

"Looking for main man Murray, eh? Well, sadly, I can't find him if I'm stuck in a jail cell like rats in a cat bag, ya dig?" Dimitri asked, Neyla groaning at his word usage with a frown.

"Well, how about this? We go get your door unlocked, then we distract the cops and they chase us outside. You should be able to escape during the chaos," I said to him, Sly smiling at that.

"That's a plan I can get behind. Dimitri is free, and kitty gets cooked! Key for cell is in head cop lady's office," Dimitri said, Neyla sighing at that last bit.

"I know you're mad at me, Dimitri, but I'm reformed. I'm with the Cooper Gang and am expecting a kid with this lovely lady here," Neyla said, hugging me and me running my fingers down her fur again, her purring a bit, but making it quiet as the cops were right nearby.

"Get me out of here and I'll find Murray no sweat. Just stay down low and out of sight near them coppers, bros. They're a bad bunch of bunnies," Dimitri said, me nodding at that and our group going invisible to get through the cops without getting detected, Sly going under the table and getting the key from in Carmelita's office as she did her presentation on Don Octavio and how she thought he was connected to all the tar being polluted into the water.

"Let's get back to business, now, where was I?... Oh, right, also, we seem to have some leads to the Cooper gang. They're also on their way here, so keep your wits sharp about them too. Especially the members in Neyla, Ella Unknown, and Sly Cooper. They have tons of impressive abilities," Carmelita said as we then made our way back to Dimitri's cell just as the lights went off from the fritz. Sly then put the key in the lock and I began to work at the rotation lock, me listening intently for the clicks and doing it just as the game wanted me to. I then got the door opened after click number three and I then opened up the door for Dimitri.

"Now time to get the cops chasing after our group. You get to finding Murray," I said to Dimitri with a smile.

"Solid! Don't worry no mind, straightway I'll pass word for Murray to find you. Meet at Rialto Bridge. Big Italian landmark!" Dimitri smirked.

"Okay, showtime," I smiled as I led our trio into the main area while the lights flickered on and I simply clacked my cane against some metal for the guards to notice us.

"Hello, assorted banana peelers... and officer foxy. Anyone feel up for a good ol' chase?" I smiled at them.

"You three?! Grab them, men!" Carmelita yelled, her and the other ape forces chasing us out the door and out to the water's edge, me smiling at how they stopped at the pier afterwards.

"You have some serious gall to show up in a police headquarters during an important meeting," Carmelita frowned.

"I was afraid we were growing apart. Haven't seen each other for awhile after all," Sly smiled.

"Then why don't we spend some quality time together? You, me, and a pair of handcuffs wrapped around your wrist and connected to mine?" Carmelita asked in her own snarky attitude, me smiling at that.

"Wow, that was straight and to the point, wasn't it?" Neyla asked with a smile.

"Oh, shush, Neyla. Men, let's go after 'em!" Carmelita said, her apes taking off with their jet packs and trying to grab us by flying into us, but our group out classed them in speed as we rushed across the waters on the small points and ropes until we finally got to the bridge, me seeing Murray appear from a manhole in the middle of the street while Carmelita chased us from the ground.

"Greetings old..." Murray was about to say before a shock blast tried to hit his feet. "INSPECTOR FOX?! Man, you're in it again!" Murray said with a smile, me groaning a bit.

"This is going to smell like ass!" I said as I jumped into the sewers with my nose pinched shut, the others following after and me smiling as I heard Carmelita.

"You better take a shower the next time we meet up, Cooper!" Carmelita said, me smiling at that. She was being much more playful and flirty than she was in the game! Our group then emerged from the manhole in the area by the Ferris Wheel, Murray's appearance being just as before, but this time, no mask on him. Just the face paint and the tribal attire on his head.

"Thanks for the quick escape, Murray. We owe you one... again," Sly smiled.

"Of course, searchers, we are all in need of peace," Murray smiled.

"You're really dedicated to that Dreamtime stuff, huh?" Neyla asked.

"My mind is clear, like a woodland after a forest fire," the hippo said with a calmness to his voice.

"Murray? We need you back on the team. The thing with Bentley wasn't your fault. No one could've known that Brian would do that when the hate chip was removed. He doesn't blame you, he blames Brian," I said to him, Murray frowning and shaking his head.

"Sorry, guys. I walk a different path. My Guru, in his wisdom, told me to lose myself and not return until the black water ran pure... see?" Murray asked as he pointed to the river and, just as he said, there was tar being pumped into it from one of the pipes from Octavio's mansion.

"Well, what if you could help us peacefully? You wouldn't need to hurt a fly," I said, Murray then thinking and smirking at that.

"That sounds perfect! What do you need me to do?" Murray asked, Sly talking after that.

"How about come visit us back at the Safehouse. We miss you, pal. We'd like to hear how it's been going for the past few months," Sly smiled.

"Of course," Murray smiled as he then followed us back to the Safehouse, having to steer clear of the guards in the process until we finally got there, where everyone hugged the big guy the moment they saw him.

"Okay, guys. Murray's teacher said that he can't get out of Venice until the black water runs pure. So that means we need to find the source of the tar polluting the canals and take him out. But Murray's teachings say he has to renounce all violence, so he isn't allowed to hurt anything with anger or fists. So what do you think?" Neyla asked.

"Well, according to what I've been able to decipher from the meeting Carmelita had with her mercenaries, we can safely assume that Don Octavio is the one responsible. As we are all non-law operatives, we can get directly involved. First, Bentley, Sly, and Ruby will break into Octavio's opera house and snoop around for any kind of evidence. Meanwhile, Henriette and Neyla will try to tail the Don as he makes his way through town. Some incriminating photos of his crimes in progress should be enough to lock him in the clink. But other than that, I've intercepted a call from Octavio's men. They plan on sending out the Blue Viper gondola gang to attack Carmelita during her midday patrol of the waters. So when it gets to midday, me and Ella will go after them to prevent any harm coming to Carmelita," Meg said, my smile forming widely at that.

"Oh yeah! Sistah power is best power!" I smiled as I gave Meg a hi-five, which she happily accepted. "And as for you, Murray, we've got food in the fridge right here. Feel free to have some if you want. This place will be a great place for meditation, as it's closed off from the other areas," I smiled at him.

"Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it," Murray smiled at us, me smirking at him.

"Now time to go out and do our jobs," Sly said as our teams then went into our separate placements to begin doing deviousness.


	31. Chasing Carmelita's Chasers

**Chapter 31**

Meg and I got out to the area of the boats by the police station and I made both of us invisible as Carmelita soon appeared around noon, her going into one of the police boats by the dock and leaving one for us conveniently.

"Okay, time to hotwire the boat," Meg said as she got over to it and got to the wires. "Just cross blue with red like back home and... BOOM goes the dynamite!' Meg smirked loudly, me then seeing the vipers start to chase after Carmelita, us needing to head out quickly as Meg got on the rudder and I got on the turret. And when we started to chase the Blue Vipers, we gasped as one of them tried to shoot at Carmelita, me yelling at her.

"CARMELITA! LOOK OUT!" I yelled at her, the fox officer looking behind her and gasping.

"Hah?! Finally! Some action!" Carmelita said with a smirk as she began to assist by shooting some electrical bolts at the Blue Vipers while I shot at the boat engines for the vipers. I did this for the first viper and saw that, unlike in the games, the gondolas weren't as tough as they were. Each one got disabled after at least ten shots from the turret. And with Carmelita assisting with her shock pistol, we got rid of all the Blue Vipers without any issue!

"Whew, thanks for the assist, Ella. How'd you know I'd get tailed?" Carmelita asked as I had Meg drive us up to her side.

"I intercepted a phone call from Octavio. He sent the Blue Viper gondola gang after you because he thinks you're a threat to his big opera recital," Meg said, her then getting a ping on her binocucom and checking it out, her gasping at it. "And now I know why he wants the cops out of it... Bentley just got me the plans to his opera recital... you know all this tar being pumped into the water lately?" Meg asked, Carmelita frowning and looking at the river around us, it actually having four pipes pumping tar into our area, making the water kind of tricky to boat through.

"Yeah, I have," Carmelita said with a frown.

"Well, Don Octavio is pumping tar into the ground and under the foundations of buildings and landmarks so he can sink them into the waters on a whim! He's going to demonstrate this ability to anyone who grants him an audience to his opera recital on the first day of Carnivale... honestly, that is by far the dumbest way to prove how strong you are..." Meg groaned as she then got some pictures in her Binocucom and sent them to Carmelita, her gasping at them. It was the pictures taken by Neyla and Henriette of Octavio polluting the different areas with tar, which included the fountain by the Octavio sign, the bird bath, and the waterwheel... they then sent three more pictures of Octavio sending the tar to pollute the entire aquarium!

"Oh my god... I can't believe it! That madman is killing this entire city!" Carmelita gawked in shock and anger fueled her face.

"Do you think you could help us out now? Since we just gave you the evidence of his plans?" I asked her, Carmelita frowning and mulling it over a couple seconds before she then nodded her head.

"You're on, Ella Unknown. If it's you I'm working with, I'd be more than happy to help take out a madman like Don Octavio. But I can't be seen with you by the ape mercenaries. Don't want to ruin my credibility after all," Carmelita smiled.

"Understood. I'm sure we can get you to help out later," I smiled at her. "For now, we should go our separate ways. I'll throw a penny through the front door of the cop station if we need your help with something, okay?"

"Your calling card, huh? I'll be waiting... but I always wanted to ask. Why a penny?" Carmelita asked.

"I chose a penny because it is literally the least amount of worth in the entirety of the USA currency. So I give them as my calling cards, but I like to save them for particularly horrid criminals, like Raleigh, Muggshot, and Contessa. That one time I left a penny in the ballroom? That was just to let you guys know I was there," I smiled at her.

"Yeah, that was a bit harsh when you think about it. But that was back before... all that happened," Carmelita frowned.

"Yeah... it was... hey, why is it that we're able to have heart-to-hearts when it's just us girls, but whenever it's any other time, we can't have any time to speak?" I asked her.

"Eh, maybe because of a certain raccoon on your team. My entire reason for getting into Interpol was to put him behind bars... but you are right about one thing. He's quite charming and handsome... I want to be able to help you out on occasion, but my instincts always kick in if I see Sly. But it's starting to simmer a bit since that time we had on the helicopter," Carmelita smiled.

"By the way, we haven't opened that cider yet. We've been meaning to wait until we can have all of us and you finish up a job together without any pursuits in the end," Meg smiled at her.

"Really? Well, it may happen sooner than you might think. Whenever you do your little operation or whatever, give me the go ahead and I'll come in to arrest Don Octavio," Carmelita smiled... but then we came to an area of the place that we gawked at. The Ferris Wheel was in a crumpled mess in the canals with a large puddle of tar from where it once was.

"What happened?!" Carmelita gawked.

"Octavio rigged this Ferris Wheel to pump the tar without anyone suspecting anything. I recorded his conversation on this. Here," I heard Neyla say from above us as she threw a tape recorder at Carmelita, her catching it and playing it from the start.

"Listen, Giovanni. This Ferris Wheel was a good idea! She's a-pumpin' the tar fast! And nobody, but nobody suspects a thing! But still, is it gonna be enough for my big comeback recital?... Bella! When the people start to come and hear me sing I want to make sure they keep a-comin'! Even if they don't feel like it, one way or the other, they'll be opera fans again! Hey! Hey! Heyhehehe!... Okay, see ya soon," the voice of Octavio said from the recording, Carmelita frowning at it.

"This should be more than enough evidence. Now all that's needed is to keep it on my person until the time is right to get him busted. See ya," Carmelita smiled as she boated off to a different area and I looked at Meg with a smile.

"I'll stash this boat somewhere for us to use for later if we need to. I can make it back on my own, don't worry. I've read the invisibility pages," Meg smiled as I got out of the gondola and she then revved it off to a different area as I then returned back to the Safehouse with the others.

"I'm sure we're all aware of what Octavio is doing. If he were to succeed, then Venice will be at the mercy of his mad demolition demonstrations. So, we need to plan this out. First, we'll have myself and Sly take out the balloons and sign that advertise the event. Without them, no one will want to show up, thinking it'd be canceled. Second, we'll need to get some blueprints to the main tar vacuum hidden in three coffee houses. However, they are under constant guard, so Henriette and Neyla will use disguises to get in there and get the blueprints. Also, Octavio has hired some Vincenetti goons as insurance for the recital. Given that they're much larger than normal guards and they use flying chairs, I think that we'll have Ella convince Carmelita and her ape mercenaries to take them out for us. And finally, Murray, you'll need to take to the field to destroy some tar drums. You know of the Ball Form, right?" Bentley asked Murray.

"Yeah, that was my first week!" Murray smiled widely.

"Excellent! You'll be in charge of using your ball form to jump high into the air and demolish the tar drums by bouncing down on them and destroying them. When Meg comes back, she'll show you where to begin," Bentley said, Meg appearing in the next 10 seconds after that.

"Alright, time to move out. Ella, take Murray to this designated area," Bentley said, Meg smiling and nodding at that as I then went on my way to the cop station to pay a visit to the furry female officer.


	32. The Great Opera of Tar

**Chapter 32**

After getting Carmelita to get rid of the Vincenetti Goons with some help from me, I then went back to the Safehouse and saw Ruby fiddling with some of her voodoo dolls, me smiling at that.

"Hey, Ruby," I smiled at her, sitting down next to her afterwards.

"Hey, Ella," Ruby smiled at me as she then continued to fiddle with the dolls.

"So what're you doing? Making some more voodoo dolls?" I asked her honestly.

"Yeah. I'm trying to see if I can make a voodoo doll that can help me control the powers of liquids. You know, to get rid of the tar in the water," Ruby admitted with a smile.

"That's very sweet, Ruby," I smiled as I ruffled her hair again with a smile. She was now 13 years old and was now only five inches shorter than me. And her attire had changed for this adventure to more look like something I'd wear, including a T-shirt with a skull on it and a pair of pants that had a large tail hole in them for her tail. She also let her hair grow out and did it up in a ponytail to make her look cuter.

"I want to help out as much as I can, just like how you help out people," Ruby smiled with a giggle... but her voice broke when she said I sounds.

"Looks like you're going through puberty again," I smiled at her.

"Yeah, I've already had my you know what this month, and I forgot how bloody they are," Ruby frowned. I smiled at her again at that.

"You'll get used to it after awhile," I smiled at her as the others started to come in, including an upset Bentley and Henriette and Neyla looking to be all tuckered out. "What happened to you guys?" I asked.

"Octavio tried to kidnap me and I was completely powerless... he may be old, but he's very tough," Bentley frowned.

"Meanwhile, me and Neyla barely got back in one piece. That last blueprint was rigged to an alarm and we barely got out of there without a scratch," Henriette frowned.

Then Murray and Meg returned and Bentley began to read over the plans. "Okay, time to pull off the heist. Operation Tar be gone!" Bentley said as we then went over the plan. "First, Neyla will use her disguise to get into the opera house and down to the main tar pumping room to let in myself, Ella, and Sly. Once there, using the blueprints, we will destroy the main tar vacuum in order to stop the tar from going into the waters of Venice. After that, Ruby will offer to go onstage with Don Octavio for an opera duet. He's sure not to attack while onstage, so while singing, Henriette will silently remove the ropes for the chandelier and drop it on Octavio's head! Ella will then swipe the switch and by that point the tar is sure to have stopped pumping, allowing Murray to join up with us again," Bentley said, Murray smirking and nodding at that. Our groups then went to our positions with me getting my trio to the basement of Octavio's mansion, Meg guiding Neyla through via Binocucom until she finally arrived in her disguise, which was of the different masked felines.

"Nice to see you guys,". Neyla smiled as she let us into the tar pumping room and Bentley then started to get to work on blowing up the tar pumps, the guards already coming in after one was done for. Our trio knocked out the guards while I helped Bentley out with taking out some of the tar vacuums with some super punches until all of them were on fire and the pumping had finally stopped.

"Okay, now time to watch the show while out of sight and invisible," I said, leading our group to the area in question and seeing Ruby approach Octavio with a smile.

"Well, a little gator teenager has joined the audience has she?" Octavio asked, Ruby shaking her head no at that.

"Can I sing with you, please?" Ruby smiled.

"You're a vocalist? Very well, a duet is coooming uuup! We'll sing and then I'll take you home," Octavio smiled, Ruby going on stage next to the monster as he began to sing first. And when Ruby sung, I was legitimately surprised. Despite currently going through puberty, her voice was actually a very good soprano! Once it got to the final note?

"Lala, la... Llllllllllllllaaaaaaaaaaa~!" Ruby sung as she then said the word. "Now!" she exclaimed, Henriette slamming her knife into the final cord and the chandelier dropping afterwards! But something unexpected happened. Octavio actually tanked the hit without an issue and gasped as we had him surrounded.

"This recital... is over," Octavio said as he then ran off to his go play getaway driver and Sly and Bentley got in it and proceeded to boat down the canals!

"Okay, need extra firepower," I frowned as I called up Carmelita on the radio frequencies.

"Hello?" Carmelita asked.

"Carmelita! Octavio is in a chase with Sly and Bentley! We need you to get over to the opera stage immediately!" I said to her with seriousness in my voice.

"Roger, heading to your position. Should I bring reinforcements?" Carmelita asked.

"Not needed, we just need a good user of the shock pistol," I smiled, Carmelita then arriving with Murray just in time to see Octavio's engine get demolished and him getting launched airborne and smashing the crap out of the opera stage!

"It's over, Octavio. Hand over that demolition switch and stop this stupid plan you think will work," I frowned at him.

"You guys are a-chasin' me for this? Fine, big shots. Took me six months to make this plan. But, what the hey, I got more where this came from," Octavio said with a frown as Murray then did the deed as he would've in game.

"Did you guys see that boat go out of control and jump and smash into that thing?! Destruction! So cool!" Murray said, Octavio smiling at that.

"You think that was 'cool', punk?" Octavio asked as he then laughed like a lunatic and pushed the button, Carmelita gasping as she saw a house nearby get completely sunken in deadly sticky tar!

"You have just sung your last song, you bastard!" Carmelita yelled as she tried to attack Octavio and we all gasped at what happened. Octavio kicked Carmelita directly in the stomach so hard, she was sent flying all the way to the building Murray stood on top of!

"Stop it! Stop it!" Bentley yelled angrily as Octavio then approached and knocked Bentley out of his wheelchair, my fury growing as I saw the waters were no longer running tar.

"Come on, Murray! The water is pure, so let's tag team this mothafuckah!" I yelled angrily as Murray then jumped off the roof and slammed his fist into Octavio's face!

"The MURRAY returns!" Murray yelled triumphantly as we then proceeded to attack Octavio with me using slow time to grab him by the arms and smash his left leg with my cane, him yelping in pain as Murray then connected a punch to his face!

"I'm coming!" Ruby yelled angrily as she then used her mojo magic with her new voodoo doll to send tar from the water out of it to completely cover Octavio! And once she did that, he was completely immobile as I then punched him right in the face while yelling my signature catchphrase.

"BANANA... SLAMMAH!" I yelled as the punch connected, me seeing Sky help up Carmelita and me seeing she found it hard to stand after that gut punch.

"Oof... that old timer is tougher than he looks... I can handle it from here. You guys get out of here, I'll call for backup," Carmelita said with a groan.

"Okay, Carmelita," I said as I went over and got Bentley back in his wheelchair, him groaning a bit from the hit he received as well.

"Let's get out of here, guys," Henriette said, us then leaving the place immediately after and heading back to the Safehouse to get the thief net computer before rushing off to our hideout. Upon arrival, we watched the news and saw Octavio had been sent to prison for a 30 year sentence for what he'd done. But, get this, he said he was happy to be in jail because all the prisoners loved his singing!

"Damn... that lion better stay behind bars for a long time," I groaned at him.

"Agreed," Neyla frowned as we then looked at Murray and smiled. He put on his gloves, washed off the paint on his body, put on his scarf, mask, and even his champion belt. The Murray had officially returned!

"Oh yeah! The Murray is back in the action!" I smiled as I gave him a hi-five happily.


	33. Finding Guru

**Chapter 33**

Only after five days passed did Murray finally tell us his inner thoughts. He wanted to go off to talk to the Guru back in the Outback of Australia because he hadn't asked permission to take leave from his training. So, after all of us did a team handshake, we then packed up our stuff and put on disguises and flew to Australia soon after. And just like in the game, Murray described all the awesome stories of the Guru and his mystical abilities, actually making Ruby kind of jealous in the process for obvious reasons.

"Whoa... so he's actually able to transform into objects and take control of people's minds? And he can even make blasts of pure magic to destroy items? That's wicked cool... I wish I had that kind of magic, but my voodoo powers can only go so far without a constant supply of ectoplasm," Ruby said with a frown.

"Well, maybe he can teach you some of his skills. My Master is amazing! He'll get inside your head and freak you out six ways from Sunday," Murray said, me smirking at that.

"Then it's settled. Not only are we going to help you out with reuniting student and Master, but we will also try to get him on our team. We could surely use another mystic on our team of misfits," I smiled widely.

"Aye! That sounds amazing, if I say so meself!" Henriette smiled widely, her being disguised as a teen rebel which I thought was adorable for her. I didn't want to spoil the best part of the game because I knew that she'd be overjoyed to hear of the final stretch before Kaine Island, as she once told me that she started her cutthroat career in Bloodbath Bay.

We finally touched down in the plane and walked the entire distance to the Outback, where we found that the miners had set up shop and were drilling into all the rocks around the place, the detail of the tragedy much more massive when in the views of the graphics of Thieves in Time. And Murray actually teared up when he couldn't see the Guru anywhere, which I then put my hand on his shoulder and smiled, Neyla already thinking the same exact thing as did Meg.

"Don't worry, Murray. We'll go find the Guru. You stay here with the others and give us ideas as to his locations," I said, Murray nodding at that.

'"Okay," he said as I then proceeded to his first area, the cave, where, after doing some wall hook maneuvers and some swinging, there was nothing in the cave.

"Any other leads?" Neyla asked.

"Well, that's his hut," Murray said as he pinged the waypoint to the hut in the distance. "Though... he doesn't really hang out there on... account of the smell," he frowned.

"The smell?" Neyla asked.

"It's a long story... I had to apologize up and down for like a month before he'd speak to me again," Murray frowned.

"What'd you do?" I asked him.

"The unspeakable, Ella. The Un. Speakable," Murray frowned.

"Ooookay... going to leave it at that and proceed to the hut... with noses pinched shut," I said, me leading Neyla over to the area in question and having to take out a couple miners in the process before we got to the hut, where we saw that it was as the game depicted it. The place looked to be trashed minus the hut.

"I think the miners may have got your Master, Murray... wait..." Neyla frowned as she looked in her Binocucom over to the cage and saw something. "I see him! He's in a cage over there by... oh my god, that truck is MASSIVE!" Neyla gasped as her tail puffed up just from looking at it. She really wanted to drive it and I couldn't blame her.

"Easy, tigress. Let's get over there and see about saving the Guru," I said, leading her and me over to the place using defy gravity to reach him, which we did so easily, seeing the Guru from his standpoint and him approaching us.

"Hello, are you the Guru?" I asked him... and then something crazy happened. He spoke ENGLISH!

"Yes, that is I. I can sense that you are friends with my student, Murray, correct?" he asked, me trying to hold in my shock and not think anything fourth-wall breaking.

"Ahem... yes, we are. He's come to ask to take time off of his training and we were hoping that you'd help us out too. We're going for a big job that requires specialists of the highest caliber and he's told tons of awesome stories about you," I smiled at him. Guru smiled and nodded, but then he said something else.

"I'd like to help you, but I am unable to use my powers so long as the Dreamtime Spirits are at unease. I cannot leave this fenced area until my moonstone and walking staff are returned to me safely and the spirits request that Ayer's Rock be cleared of these miner's influence," the Guru said. "And one more thing. There is also a horrid artifact that these miners have foolishly unearthed. The Mask of Dark Earth. It is one of the deadliest ancient artifacts to the Dreamtime spirits and I cannot leave the outback while it is on the loose. It needs destroyed," the Guru said.

"Got it. Since we've encountered literal zombies and ghosts in our past, I'm inclined to believe your tale. And as for your gear, you needn't fret. Me and the Cooper Gang have a reputation for taking back what was wrongfully taken," I smiled at him.

"I agree... I request one more thing, though. I would like to meet the other members of your team in pairs of twos. I wish to learn about your gang's spiritual alignment," Guru said with a smile.

"We have a deal," Neyla smiled as we then went back to the Safehouse and shared our knowledge with the others, them understanding the situation as we then went to the slideshow.

"Okay, so from what Neyla and Ella have stated, the Guru can't leave his fenced in area until we bring him his walking staff and moonstone and also clear out Ayer's Rock of miners. But from what you have said, we also have the issue of an evil artifact called the Mask of Dark Earth. First, Sly and Henriette will go to the different cave systems to find the Guru's items. Meanwhile, Ruby and Murray will go to meet the Guru while also making a clear way for me and Ella to reach him. And finally, Neyla and Ella will use a local truck to go to Ayer's Rock to clear it of miners," Bentley said, Neyla gasping and smirking widely.

"YYYEEESS! ! I get to drive the giant truck! I COULD CRUSH HOUSES WITH THAT BABY!" Neyla smirked widely and excitedly as she then left the Safehouse immediately, me giggling and rushing after her with a big grin on my face.

"Well, this is going to be interesting," I smiled widely at what kind of mischief Neyla would get up to with the truck of legend!


	34. The Horrors of the Mask of Dark Earth

**Chapter 34**

In all honesty, the mission to clear out Ayer's Rock with the giant truck? IT WAS AWESOME! Neyla laughed like a madwoman when she boosted the truck into the main area and she got all the scorpions in the truck with ease! And since it was nearing dusk, the sand wasn't nearly as hot as the game would've depicted... in fact, it was 8:50 pm and that meant the sun was setting in the distance. Neyla then, after getting 20 soldier scorpions, let them loose down the entrance to Ayer's Rock, a bunch of miners rushing out of the place and some actually getting stabbed by the stingers before they finally said the announcement.

"BOYS! Fuggedabout dis place! Save yerselves! Abandon the rig! ABANDON THE RIG!" the main dingo exclaimed, the dingos all packing up their stuff as well as blowing up the giant drill with some explosives before finally running into the sunset.

"Okay, THAT was BAD ASS!" I smiled widely.

"Hell yeah it was, hon!" Neyla smirked as I hopped back in the passenger seat and she gave me a hi-five, me smirking at her as we then drove back to the camp, parking the truck where it was before, but Neyla made sure to pocket the keys so the miners couldn't use it again. We then saw Murray and Ruby come down from the Guru's area above us and we met up at the base of the giant central cliff with the rotating crane.

"So? How'd it go?" I asked them with a smile.

"It went pretty well. The Guru said that my inner spirit was bursting with magical potential and offered to give me some training once we drive the miners out of this place! I can actually expand my magical prowess!" Ruby smiled happily, her voice breaking a couple times from her excitement.

"But we also came across the Mask of Dark Earth thing. And it was attached to some wallaby," Murray said with a frown.

"So what's the deal?" Neyla asked.

"The deal is that the mask is sentient, able to move and run all on its own, and when it was attached to the wallaby, it made him grow as large as 1.5 times the size as Murray and actually made his clothes rip off his body. That mask is insanely dangerous. I could sense nothing but malice and black magic all through its structure. We need to get rid of it before it does anything bad to us," Ruby said.

"Agreed on that much," I said as I could tell from her worry that she was telling the truth... well, that and the fact that I knew everything before she even said it, but, eh...

Sly and Henriette then emerged from their location with the Moon Stone and Staff, both of them having small detonators on them that powered down upon getting exposed to the fading sunlight of the sunset. Murray, Ruby, Neyla and I then proceeded back to the Safehouse while Sly and Henriette went to talk to the Guru next. After waiting for a few more minutes, they returned and Bentley and Meg then went out to meet the koala with the mystical powers. The minutes seemed to drag on when I wasn't exuding energy, so I tried to think of some way to stay entertained.

"Hey, Henriette?" I asked the pirate Cooper.

"Yeah? Wot is it, captain?" Henriette asked.

"We happened to read some of your stories in the Thievius Raccoonus, but I wanted to ask. Do you have anymore that you could share?" I asked her, Henriette smiling at that.

"That I can and more, captain!" Henriette smiled. "The year was 1616, the second year of me thieving career. I sailed across the seas to the Indian Ocean where I found a secret cave that led to an immense fortune. A gigantic goblet of gold, a treasure owned by the legendary rogue Sinbad! It was as large as me boat's smallest mast and weighed way too much for me men to pick it up normally. So I decided to do a daring stunt. I went over to the goblet and used Slaigh MacCooper's technique to pick up the giant goblet and throw it closer to the Cooper Mistress. Me men cheered when I did this as they then began to do the process of tying the legendary cup o' gold to the boat's mast with me assistance. We then set sail for the Cooper Vault on Kaine Island, where I stashed the legendary goblet in the innards of the Cooper's fortune spanning for generations upon generations. Back when I was in me youth, I added roughly 10 million gold pieces worth of loot into that vault. But Pappy Rioichi added way more, upwards of 25 million in gold pieces! And convertin' to yer new-fangled Euro system, that means that, altogether, just mine and Pappy Rioichi's share of the loot is upwards of... 35 billion Euros... give or take a few billion," Henriette said, Sly spitting out his coffee at the sound of that and him in awe at the words that came out of Henriette's mouth... same with pretty much all of us.

"Just your loot... and Rioichi's... 35 BILLION?! That's enough money to buy the entirety of Russia!" Meg gawked as she put in the numbers on her personal cell phone and it said that it was around the price to purchase a country as large as Russia, which was the largest country in the world!

"And there's way more loot in that vault from all the other Coopers in history. The fortune residing in that legendary island is unfathomable, unable to have any price. It's priceless... which is why I'm sure Doctor M is so determined to bust in there by any means necessary. He's mad for gold and loot and the Cooper Vault is his coveted prize. But as yer pal McSweeny said, only a Cooper can open them locks," Henriette smiled with a sigh of giddiness.

"That fortune is definitely going to be ours now! We can't let a madman like Doctor M steal that loot from Sly's family legacy," I said with seriousness in my voice.

"It's not just my legacy. All of you guys are going to get a cut of it too," Sly smiled.

"Thanks, Sly," Murray smiled at that.

"We'll help you out until the bitter end!" Henriette smirked at him.

But when we all had the sappy stuff done with, we heard tons of explosions not far from the Safehouse! We then looked out the window to see the Guru literally smashing the guards' heads into the drills by the lemonade bar! All of them got demolished in no time flat as the Guru then rushed off to the next area, Wave Rock. He demolished the saw truck that worked there with zero issue as well, hopping guards to the generator and smashing their skulls into the machine until it was dead and the explosion crippled and demolished the saw blade truck!

"Oh yeah! You're the Master!... Master!" Murray smirked widely.

"Yep, that was cool," I smiled widely as Bentley and Meg then returned with smiles on their faces.

"Okay, guys, now to the next phase. As we all know, the Mask of Dark Earth is still out there and the miners need to be completely kicked out of this area before the Guru will be able to join us without issues. So, here's the plan. In order to get rid of the miners, my plan is twofold. First, we'll enlist the help of the local fauna to help take out the miners. Murray and Ruby will start feeding the miners to a local giant crocodile. With some luck, he'll take a liking to the taste of miners and chow down on them left and right!" Bentley said, me smirking and shaking my head.

"Please don't say that ever again?" I asked, Bentley not getting it... but Meg did.

"BWWWAAAHHAAAHAAA!" Meg laughed insanely.

"What's so funny?" Sly asked.

"Miners can sound like another similar sounding word... minors with an o," I smirked, Sly smirking and Neyla laughing at that with a groan from Bentley and a smile from Murray, Ruby, and Henriette.

"Ooookay... Next, we'll take the fight to where these guys live... or, at least, relax. If we can take control of this lemonade bar, it'll be a huge blow to their pride. They'll be begging to go home! And finally, we'll need to go out to the local oil mains and get access to some of the glowing oil. We'll need it to put together a suit for the heist," Bentley said as we then went out to our different tasks. Ruby and Murray went for the crocodile, Sly and Henriette went to the oil manes, and Meg, myself, and Neyla went to the lemonade bar.

"Okay, guys. Time to buck up and get tough. We need to take this lemonade bar in the name of the Cooper Gang," I smiled.

"Okay, I'm ready and raring. What about you, Meg?" Neyla smiled.

"Hah! You're talking to a girl that could chug an entire bottle of root beer in only one sitting! I'm gonna smoke these losers!" Meg smirked widely.

"Then let's head inside and stir up the dingoes," I smirked as we then went in through the doors and saw the three dingoes, them looking to be having a fun time before I spoke up.

"Listen up, mutts! Time to clear outta this joint! From now on, this lemonade bar belongs to the Cooper Gang!" I said with a smile and very loudly, it getting the attention of the three dingoes immediately.

"Tough talk... uh... creature. But talk ain't worth spit if ya don't pay up in spades. We here are known round these parts fer our drinkin' skills. And this just happens to be a lemonade bar," the guard said with a growl.

"Lemonade drinking contest, eh? You dumb doggies are gonna be sorry you ever set foot in these rocky lands," Neyla smiled.

"Fair dinkum! Losers have to clear out!" the dingo said as we then went to the bar and we each were given a large mug filled with lemonade. I was at the last station, Neyla got the first, and Meg in the middle. Neyla proceeded to drink her lemonade first, actually managing to get it down quite easily! She did it in the amount of time it took the first dingo to reach half a cup. Then Meg proceeded to drink hers after Neyla slammed her cup into the table. And just like back home, Meg was an absolute beast when it came to chugging down liquids! She gulped down the entire lemonade cup in only ten seconds, which meant I was one guy ahead and I had plenty of time to take my cup and finish it. But I wanted to rub it in their faces and I proceeded to drink it all down in only twenty seconds, me slamming my cup down and burping insanely loudly afterwards, the dingoes shocked at how fast we did that.

"Oh yeah, that was a good batch of lemonade! I believe we'll be seein' you guys out right about now," I smiled at them.

"Dagummit... well, a deal's a deal... come on, boys... time to pack up our shit an' go," the dingo groaned as he gathered all the dingoes and wallabies from the bar and led them out the front door. And what happened after that?

"AAAAAGH! GET ME OUTTA HERE!" one of the wallabies yelled loudly as he ran directly back into the bar with his tail in between his legs, me hearing the crack of a whip and the sound of blood outside.

"Uh-oh... this does not sound good..." Meg gulped as, after saying that, the doors were busted down by a giant dingo donning the Mask of Dark Earth!

"Whoa! That's one beefy mutt!" Neyla gawked.

"It's the Mask of Dark Earth! We need to get that Dingo defeated in order to have a shot at taking out that mask!" I said as the wallaby gulped and retreated for a different area of the bar, over by the fire pit. I then looked at the giant dingo as he cracked the fence apart with his whip and then howled so loudly, it demolished the entirety of the drinking bar!

"EEENOOOGGOONAAGADA! EEEERRRRAAAARRGGHH!" the mask forced the dingo to say against his will, me growling as I brandished my cane and Neyla donned her whip.

"Let's dance, boys," Neyla smiled as she cracked her whip directly at the face of the dingo, the mask blocking it with a couple of hands to block his face! I then rushed in and used slow time to smack the dingo right in the balls while also snapping his legs in half with some slow-mo Banana Slammah's! And when the dingo fell to the ground with both of his legs broken to bits, the mask then jumped off and tried to run out of the bar before Neyla cracked her whip at the mask, it responding by doing something it never did in the games. It sent a blast of powerful magic at Neyla and it forced her to fall to the ground with her eyes closed!

"NEYLA!" I exclaimed as I picked her up, seeing that she was tossing and turning a lot at my touch. And when I turned around, the mask was already long gone.

"Neyla... come on, wake up!" I said, producing tears as I felt her breathing. She was still alive, but she wouldn't stop fussing in her sleep.

"Something's wrong with her... what's going on?" Meg asked as the wallaby then gulped and came over to us.

"So... what's the deal here?" the wallaby asked with a shudder.

"The deal is that this bar is Cooper gang territory and that mask is a dangerous artifact that takes mental control of anyone who has it on their face. And it's sentient, so it can latch it onto your face in one go if it so chooses!" I said.

"Damn... that's some strange and wacky stuff..." the wallaby said as I saw the dingo nearby and that we was tossing and turning as well.

"You, tell all the other workers that this place is a danger zone and to clear out effective immediately! If anyone else gets that mask on their face, it'll be doom for all involved. And in the meantime, we need the Guru's help," I said as I looked at Meg and she got to work.

"Guru... we need some help... Neyla's unconscious and we saved a dingo from the Mask of Dark Earth, but both of them are tossing and turning like they're having nightmares," Meg said in her Binocucom. "Uh huh... yes, Neyla was blasted by some strange magic... huh? They'll be having nightmares until the sun comes out? Damn... that's gonna be rough on them... okay, we'll get to getting this guy and Neyla a spot at the Safehouse to sleep off their nightmares and then we'll just have to do the heist without her," Meg said. I still had tears in my eyes as I looked at Neyla, her tossing and turning and even kicking in her sleep.

"Neyla... I am not going to let that mask hurt anyone again," I said with a growl in my voice.

"Sis, remember. We have to have things play out as intended," Meg said, me sighing and nodding.

"I know... I want to be the one to destroy that mask, though. When the heist comes, I'll demolish that mask at the time it gets demolished. No way am I letting anyone else demolish that fucking thing after it did this to Neyla," I said, activating a Warp Hole for me, Meg, and our two sleeping friends to go through directly back to the Safehouse. Bentley was a bit stunned to see the dingo, but when I explained how he got the broken legs and him and Neyla's nightmares, he frowned grimly.

"That mask is sure to keep making trouble for us. We need to destroy it," Bentley said with a sigh as the others came back one by one, including Henriette who had a large bottle filled with the glowing oil.

"Okay, time to go over the heist. These miners are going to call it quits very soon and we need to get rid of this mask once and for all. It's time for Operation Moon Crash! First, we'll enlist the help of the Guru to demolish the Gyrocopter as it goes to refuel. Once it's destroyed, we move onto phase 2 of our plan. According to the Aboriginal Dreamtime, their deity is the Moon Spirit, which happens to be the ancient foe of the Mask of Dark Earth. So, given Murray's moon shape, we'll cover him in the glowing oil and have him hang off the crane. The mask is sure to spot its ancient foe and come running. That's when we strike! Murray will thunder flop off the crane to obliterate the mask! Once that's accomplished and with the miners run off, we can finally get the Guru on our team for the Cooper Vault job," Bentley said as I saw Ruby start to use her powers on both Neyla and the dingo.

"She's going to talk to them in their minds to let them know of what's happening. Once they wake up, we'll need to treat them carefully, especially the dingo," Bentley said, me nodding at that.

"Yeah, breaking his legs was sadly the only real idea I had when it came to trying to get that mask off of him," I sighed. "And honestly, it was probably a bad move on so many levels..."

"Well, I told them of what happened and the dingo... - his name is **Boris, **so you're aware - said he understands it had to be done. He just wants a ride to the nearest hospital when he wakes up," Ruby said.

"And Neyla?" I asked.

"She says that, when she wakes up, she wants to kiss you and have a date with you when this adventure's done with. A real date," Ruby smiled.

"I can live with that," I smirked.


	35. Gigantimax Carmelita Fox

**Chapter 35**

Once we agreed that we'd keep Neyla and Boris in the big truck for the time being, we then proceeded with the first phase of the heist with the Guru and Ruby taking out the Gyrocopter while it refueled. After the thing blew up in spectacular fashion, Murray then dangled off of the crane and spoke the words. "Behold! The Moon Spirit rises! Ooooowwwooooo!" Murray said. I always found that bit funny and this was no different... though I still felt a pang of guilt at what the mask did to Neyla, my girlfriend. My fiance.

"Everyone keep a sharp eye out for the mask. It's sure to take the bait," Bentley said as I then saw Carmelita appear via a swamp boat and proceeding past the saw truck.

"Guys, situation time. Carmelita finally caught up," I said.

"Drat! We can't stop the operation now. Just give her a wide berth," Bentley said.

"Roger, applying 'wide berth'," Sly said sarcastically.

"Quit horsin' around, Sly! Look for that mask! It be close. I can feel it," Henriette frowned as I then saw the mask appear from behind the Guru and possessing a dingo with a giant gun.

"HERE I COME MASTER!" Murray said like an idiot, the mask having plenty of time to locate the direction of the sound and, just a scant fraction of a second before impact, it jumped off the dingo's face and proceeded to jump up to Carmelita and then forced itself onto her face!

"Carmelita!" I exclaimed as I looked at her with worry.

"Ella... thought I'd find you here," Carmelita said.

"Carmelita! You need to get that mask off you! Fight it! Please!" I said to her, Carmelita gasping as I saw that, after I said that, she actually did try to fight the influence of the evil mask. "Rghh... RRRARGH!... Get... Get off... ARGGUGH!" Carmelita groaned in agony as the mask then forced a cloud of purple mist around Carmelita and she then finally lost it and grew bigger, her clothes ripping off slowly but surely to the point that her hands were as big as her shock pistol and her cop badge and collar fell to the ground. "MAYBE I SHOULD SMASH YOU!" Carmelita growled in a deep voice, me activating invisibility and using Time Stopper to swipe the shock pistol, collar, and badge that Carmelita had, rushing off as Sly then ran off with Carmelita in pursuit of him.

"Bentley! I could use a little help! How about a few sleep darts in Carma-large-a here? Then we'll pry off the mask!" Sly said as he ran away from Carmelita, who chased him relentlessly with the mask's dark force forcing her brain to work against her. And once Bentley connected a sleep dart with her, Carmelita then groaned as I saw something bad happen. Just one sleep dart instead of the five before and Carmelita then started to grow larger slowly but surely, into her giant form!

"What the fuck is up with this mask?! It's reacting to the sleep dart's chemicals to make her gigantic! Everyone! Big truck! NOW!" Ruby exclaimed, us all going out to the truck and entering it in the nick of time. One more split second and Carmelita would've grabbed our truck! We drove all the way out to King's Canyon in the distance, where we then started to attack Carmelita with some more firepower, namely some explosive darts that Bentley had. After five of those, Carmelita roared extremely loudly as she grew again! But this time, she was so huge, she started getting sluggish with her movements.

"She's too huge! We can't outrun her in the truck!" Murray said, me looking at the others with seriousness.

"Okay, real strategy time. We need to get up to that mask and pry it off before Carmelita gets killed from the excess in growth! Sly, Henriette! Let's go climb up her... uh... body and get to that mask to pry it off!" I said.

"Got it!" Sly said, him and Henriette joining me as they then started to climb up Carmelita's massive feet and legs, me distracting her in the meantime.

"HEY! MASK OF DARK SHIT! LET MY FRIEND GO RIGHT THIS FUCKING INSTANT!" I yelled as I approached her feet and did something I didn't know what the effect would be. "BANANA SLAMMAH!" I exclaimed as I didn't punch her, but grabbed her toe and yanked on it hard, Carmelita stumbling from the blow, giving Sly and Henriette the chance to get up to the hooks on the mask and prying it off at the same time, the mask flying off Carmelita and making her shrink back down to her normal size, completely unclothed and looking to be experiencing nightmares. I then approached the mask and took my cane out, seeing the mask was still in its giant form. "MAXIMUM BANANA SLAMMAH!" I yelled extremely loudly as I connected a blow to the mask directly in the center, me jumping out of the way with slow time as it then cracked all over and then exploded in a giant vapor of red smoke!

When the dust cleared, I was beat and I had sweat pouring down my face, my breathing rapid and angry. And the reason? I still had some of that hypnotism stuff from the last adventure and the bright light of the red smoke triggered it again. "Ella! Are you alright?!" Meg asked as she rushed out to me and hugged me tightly, me finally letting my anger down to hug her back. "That was really dangerous, Ella... please don't ever put yourself in that kind of danger ever again!" Meg said with tears in her eyes.

"I'm okay, Ella... I'm fine... okay, now you're... now you're making me cry," I sobbed the last bit because of Meg weeping into my clothes. We then looked over to Carmelita and I saw Ruby approach her thrashing frame and she started to use her voodoo to calm Carmelita, her wincing a bit at first, but then a coo emerging from her voice after that.

"Mmgh... Nightmares... morning..." Carmelita started to say in her sleep. "Ella... Sly... Henriette?.. mm... tell them... thanks... forever... in debt..." Carmelita cooed happily as Ruby then stopped giving her respite and Carmelita started to wince again followed by some slightly less often tossing and turning, much like Neyla and Boris after they'd got Ruby's treatment.

"Guys, I need someone to clothe Carmelita and I want it to be a girl. So, who's going to do the deed?" I asked, me looking at Henriette and Ruby and Henriette finally caving in.

"Ugh, fine, I'll help out a friend in need because friends got yer back forever, indeed," Henriette said as she made up a completely random disguise over her current clothes and took them off. It was of some night pajamas with a bra and panties, which she gave to Carmelita and put on her while I forced all the others to look away with help from Ruby. Once about five minutes passed, Henriette finally finished clothing Carmelita again.

"Let's bring the other two out here. I think we should camp here until morning to make sure that Carmelita and the others stay safe," Guru said.

"Agreed," Murray said as he, Meg, and I all went into the big truck and brought out Boris and Neyla. But with Boris, who we had his legs in a splint, we had to be EXTREMELY careful with his body. I didn't want him to be in anymore pain than he was already. I then discovered a camera that Carmelita had that was actually still on her despite her giant growth... I didn't even know how, but it was attached to her tail and she had it on her while she slept.

"Want to take some wacky pictures to pass the time, guys?" I asked with a smile.

"Ooh, that sounds fun!" Sly smiled.

"Okay, time to take some fun and zany photos," I smiled as I put on the timer and we posed numerous times, upwards of at least 7 photos being taken before we had our fun... and after two more hours passed by, the sun finally began to rise over the horizon, our group taking a look at the area we were previously at thanks to Ruby's powers and we saw the true beauty it now possessed. The Guru smiled with his eyes closed and outstretched his arms with serenity.

"The Dreamtime Spirits rejoice... this land is sacred ground once again... thanks to you, my friends," Guru smiled at us.

"We couldn't have done it without you, partner," Meg smiled at him. We then looked behind us and I smiled widely as the trio finally woke up. Boris was a bit in pain due to his legs, but he still smiled when he saw that his legs had been put into splints.

"Rgh... that was the worst night's sleep Ah've had in ages... that mask sure is tough... tougher than a giant foot smashing yer face..." Neyla groaned as she held her head in pain.

"Augh... my head..." Carmelita groaned as she looked around and I simply got to her and held out my hand, Carmelita smiling and accepting it, me helping her up as I then handed her the camera we had fun with last night. "What happened... while that mask was on me?... I can't remember a thing after you told me to fight it and before the nightmares," Carmelita asked with a groan.

"Well... you grew out of your clothes and chased Sly in a blind rage, turned into a 50 foot monster after a sleep dart was used on you, and then after a couple explosive darts, you grew so large that your body became sluggish, yet powerful... oh, and if you're wondering about the change of clothes, your clothes completely ripped off of your body after you went giant. Here's the stuff I managed to salvage," I said as I gave her the shock gun, her police badge, and her collar, Carmelita smiling at me and also looking at my gang with a smile.

"I thank you... all of you. You saved my life..." Carmelita said with a smile.

"I guess it's finally time to pop open that cider, mates!" Henriette smirked as she got into her purse and grabbed the cider, Carmelita giggling as Henriette popped the cork off with ease and we all got a drink of the stuff in celebration.

"Now that that's over with, time to get you over to the nearest hospital... by the way, sorry for doing that to your legs, but it was the only idea I had as to how to get that mask off of you without me getting killed," I said to Boris.

"Ah, it's awright, missy. Honestly, I'm surprised ya even tried to help me out considerin' what we were doin' to that koala guy's place," Boris admitted.

"Well, all of them are all gone and, with some help from a certain lady with a shock pistol, I'm sure we can put some laws into place, right?' I smiled at Carmelita.

"You want some laws to protect the Aboriginal Sacred Sites from further mining? I guess I could pull a few strings," Carmelita smiled.

"Thanks, Carmelita," Sly smiled as he hugged her, Carmelita surprised at first with her tail twitching before she finally caved in.

"Oh, who am I kidding," Carmelita smiled as she hugged Sly back and actually snuggled against his chest! They were perfect for each other!

"Now that the sappy stuff is done, how about we get out of here? We need to have a bit of a vacation after this whole debacle," Neyla smiled.

"Agreed, let's go," I smiled as we decided to go in style in the giant truck, making our way back to civilization in the largest truck in the world. And this time, I was the one driving! And it was AWESOME!


	36. Holland Preparations

**Chapter 36**

Once we got Boris admitted to the nearest hospital (and paying his bills in advance with some loot that we got from our group robbing the miners of their belongings except him) we then left for the Hideout and proceeded to dig deep, Bentley and Meg pouring over the blueprints to Doctor M's fortress and them getting very frustrated with them, even Meg, who had prior knowledge of the place like me, was getting upset at how the blueprints were so incredibly detailed.

"Ugh... this is getting us nowhere! This fortress is too well protected for our current ensemble!" Meg groaned. I then saw that she was looking at a picture of the different towers and the aerial threats. I then looked at Bentley and I pulled out something that made him get the light bulb going on in his head. It was the RC chopper.

"Hey, Bentley? You think I could take the chopper out for a test run?" I asked, Bentley smirking as he then went back to the blueprints and poured over them again, him gasping as he finally got it.

"That's it! If we can get an RC specialist with amazing RC technology, we can get past a bunch of the security on this island!" Bentley said with excitement.

"Do we know of anyone like that?" Ruby asked.

"I think I might. Hold on, I need to go onto Chat Pal," Bentley said, me smirking as I went on my phone and saw that after I'd changed some of the apps to those in this world, the one called Chat Pal was now logged in with Bentley's user status. I simply logged in as well without his knowledge and got into his chat with Air Heart Babe. They then started to chat a bit while I looked at their pictures and I smirked and giggled with my mouth shut. Bentley's tiny green head on top of a giant, muscular fox. And Penelope's head (with her hand CLEARLY in view!) on top of a sexy dog in a sexy gown.

After the duo had made the bet, I then gave my two-sense happily. I sent the text that read out: "Okay, seriously, who are you two trying to fool with those obviously fake photos?" I asked into the chat, Bentley gasping and his face going beat red when he saw my face looking at his. "Sorry, bud. Just callin' it like I see it," I smiled as I then sent another text. "Why don't you show each other your true selves instead of these faces atop hunk/hottie things? I mean, Penelope, darling, your hand is clearly visible in your head shot," I said in the comment, making Penelope give out a blush emoji at that followed by a hand smacking the face.

"Fine, we'll take real pictures of ourselves," Penelope said, Bentley being a bit nervous before Henriette smiled at him.

"Oh come on, turtle. Ya gotta be brave in this line o' work. An' I ain't talkin' about thievin'. I'm talkin' about life," Henriette smiled, Bentley sighing and nodding.

"Okay. Neyla, time to take a picture," Bentley said, Neyla coming over and taking a picture of Bentley in full with him smiling as best he could. Neyla then sent the photo to Bentley's Chat Pal server and Bentley made it his profile pic, Penelope doing the same thing in only a couple seconds. And after Bentley and Penelope saw each other for real, the response was actually very adorable.

"Wow... you look cute!" Penelope said to Bentley with a happy face followed by a heart. A HEART! And Bentley responded kindly and respectfully as well.

"And you look adorable yourself, Penelope... I guess we gotta thank Ella for this," Bentley smiled.

"Is she the one that did that? Ella Unknown, as she's known as?" Penelope asked in text talk.

"Yeah, that's me. Ella Unknown, species human, currently pregnant and ready to kick serious ass in this ACES tournament!" I smiled in the Chat Pal as I then looked at Henriette with a smile, going to the Thievius Raccoonus and opening it to Otto Van Cooper's entry. "Time to get to work on making some planes, guys. We only got one week until the ACES start," I smiled at my allies.

* * *

Getting the planes made was surprisingly much easier thanks to us using the blueprints to Otto's planes. We got at least 4 of them made by the 5th day, more than enough to go far in the ACES. Neyla then broke all of us into flight school where we took our photo ID's with the machine while the place was closed for the night. The ones entering? Myself, Neyla, Sly, and, believe it or not, Meg!

"I thought you said you didn't like danger?" I asked her with a smile.

"When it comes to crime, maybe. But there is no way in fucking hell that I'm missing out on the opportunity to fly a biplane and shoot down a bunch of bogeys! I want action for a change and I want it now!" she smiled happily and wildly after she got her pilot license. We then rushed back to the Hideout via warp hole and decided it was time for us to get going to Holland. And we decided to travel by plane, as each one had at least three seats in them for secondary passengers. Bentley flew with Meg, the Guru with Sly, Murray with Neyla, and Henriette and Ruby with me. We flew the entire way to Holland in only four hours and proceeded to find the hangars for the ACES, which we immediately signed up for. We still had a couple free days until the ACES came around, so I decided to go have some fun while the others stayed behind at the hotel.

I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity, so I decided to see what the inside of the Baron's castle was like. And as luck would have it, the drawbridge, upon me arriving at the castle, was wide open with a few guards entering it. I went invisible and got in the drawbridge undetected, me seeing that the inside of the castle was unexpectedly very cutesy in design. It had a lot of plush dolls and fluffy pink furniture, including a bed that was covered in hearts... I then looked at the side of the bed and saw Penelope's photo that she took a couple days ago when I basically made her do it. I also heard some noise from above and knew it was the Black Baron.

"Okay, men, as you all know, the ACES competition is going to be full of people that, as seen in the previous years, have played really unfairly in these tournaments. So, from here on out, I want a full armada of you out in the pastures and the towns of this place. If you spot anyone outside during downtime, unless they are going directly down the path to their hangars, beat them up and toss them right back into the hotel entrance. We will have a fair competition this year!" the Black Baron said... though I knew who was really under that mask.

I proceeded up the nearby staircase and saw the Baron was alone after the guards left down a different staircase. When I got there, I saw that Penelope was looking around a bit before she sighed and took her mask off, me smiling at how adorable she looked right now. She was roughly 4 feet tall in her current look and with the Thieves in Time graphics, she looked extra adorable as her face was more like how I'd imagine her to look from this game. It was basically smaller and cuter than the fourth game and she her hair looked good in the style it was in, it being a braided ponytail and her having a small bonnet on her head.

"Oof... finally, it's hard to keep that act up all the time all day... I really hope those Coopers deliver. I don't want to be stuck living in this suit forever," Penelope said, her voice actually sounding quite cute. She sounded just like in the games, only her voice was also having the puberty effects to it. But then, just as I was about to leave, something shocking happened. Out of nowhere, Penelope bumped into me and I gasped, which in turn made Penelope gasp. "W-What the?! Who are you? Show yourself!" Penelope said in fear, me sighing and complying, turning visible again and looking at her with a small smile.

"Uh... hi?" I smiled at her with unease, Penelope frowning and eyeballing me with curiosity.

"What are you supposed to be?... Wait... are you Ella Unknown?" Penelope asked after inspecting my face.

"First guess? Impressive," I smiled at her.

"What are you doing in my castle?... And if I don't like your answer, I'm going to have to keep you here for the entire ACES competition," Penelope said with a frown.

"Dammit... okay, I wanted to see what the inside of the Black Baron's castle looked like because... well, I just found him mysterious and I wanted to know more... but I guess I found out a bit more than I wanted to," I said, making sure that my Binocucom was turned off. It was. Penelope still frowned at me and I sighed and put my hands up. "Look, I'm not going to rat you out, Penelope. If we're going to do this, I want to do it fair and square. I want to beat the Black Baron at his own game and only then get you on our team. I won't say a single word about this incident... but if you happen to cheat at this event? Then I may have stuff to say," I said, Penelope gasping and frowning as she put her hand to her head and scratched the top of her scalp.

"Okay, fine... you promise me?" she asked.

"From woman to woman, I swear that I won't tell anyone unless you happen to cheat," I smiled at her.

"I won't cheat. That's my promise. Now get out of here, quickly. The guards will be back any minute and not even they know about my double life," Penelope said as she put the disguise back on and I simply warped my way out using a warp hole, warping myself back to in front of the hotel and smiling.

"Okay, time to go talk to the others," I smiled as I jumped up to the hotel door where our gang resided at and smiled at them all.

"So? How was your exploring spree?" Neyla smiled at me.

"It was fun! I got to see a lot of the sights, but what intrigued me most was a gigantic, wild wolf that's near the hills leading to the Black Baron's castle. Giant teeth, blood red eyes, and mangy fur all over. He looked like he could come in handy in the future," I smiled widely, making sure that Ruby knew not to rat me out if she saw my thoughts. She nodded with a smile at that.

"Okay, now let's go greet the pilots," Sly smiled. We then went out into the hotel complex and got messaged by Bentley.

"Okay, guys, it's time to get up to some deviousness," Bentley said.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked with a smile.

"Well, the Baron is unscrupulously fair in these tournaments and, since other pilots have cheated in the past, he's gone all out on the security, even the flight rosters are kept secret. If we want to have a leg up on the competition, we'll need to learn all about our opponents to play them into our hands," Bentley said.

"You know, normally I'd make some snide remark about you being overly worried about your confidence in us, but those are some grim odds. So how do we do this?" Sly asked.

"Well, the flight roster is kept secret from the pilots, but not the event staff," Bentley smiled.

"A man on the inside? Who's the one we talk to?" Henriette asked with a smile.

"Our... 'friend', Dimitri has been hired to give color commentary during the dogfights. Find him and interrogate him to find out where the roster is being kept. But remember not to pick any fights with the other pilots. If we get into a fight with any pilots, we'll be kicked out of the contest," Bentley warned.

"I get you, we treat each other all nice and sweet until the fights happen. Then we blow each other up 700 feet in the air," I smiled.

"That's an accurate summation," Meg smiled at me, me smirking at her saying that. We then looked around the place and found Dimitri at the bar smoking a cigar and in his usual getup.

"Hey there, Dimitri. How's things been going since Venice? Never pictured you as a fly boy," I smiled at him.

"Like a dance floor with many lights, I have many profiles, dig? Don't even think about figuring out the silky enigma of Dimitri," he smiled at me.

"Bentley says you may know the flight roster for the ACES tournament. Ye think ye can help us scallywags out?" Henriette asked, Dimitri raising his baggy eyes when Henriette said the word scallywag.

"That word... scallywag... you wouldn't happen to be from pirate origin, would you, miss?" Dimitri asked.

"Pirate? Hah! Ye be talkin' to Captain Henriette 'One Eye' Cooper, the most famous plunderer among all pirate kind from 1615 to 1640!... And if ye be wonderin' how I be in present day, thank Captain Ella for helpin' me out... oh, and also that no-good butterfly bastard. I'm glad he's gone," Henriette smiled. Dimitri smiled as he got the cogs turning in his brain before he spoke again.

"Okay, I can tell you the roster's location if you agree to owe Dimitri a favor, which I will collect in a few month's time," Dimitri asked.

"A favor?" Sly smiled.

"This no small time favor like, 'will you water my fish or feed my plant'? No way, bros! Like awesome big mafia jumbo deal. Like action movies, big time," Dimitri smiled.

"You got a deal, Dimitri," I smiled at him.

"Done! Haha! The bargain, she has struck!... Flight roster kept in Baron's air hangar. Look behind tacky painting. It in secret safe," Dimitri smiled, saying the last bit quietly to us so the other pilots couldn't hear.

"Understood, that will be easy for me, then," Henriette smiled... but then came the Black Baron from the hotel entrance.

"Ah! Stand cool, here comes big cheese!" Dimitri said when he saw him.

"I bid you all a most flamboyant welcome, my esteemed comrades of the skies! Tomorrow will mark the 7th annual ACES competition. We have pilots from the world over, including contestants from Belgium, Ecuador, Canada, and many, many more! Not the least of which is last year's deadly runner-up, Team Muggshot," the Baron said, me looking up at Muggshot above us and on the railing and him speaking after that.

"This time we're gonna drill you suckas fulla holes!" Muggshot said, me smiling and being mischievous.

"Hey, Muggshot! Yoohoo! Remember me? Mesa City 3 years ago? I certainly remember you!" I smiled from my position, Muggshot looking at me and gulping. "I see you still neglected leg day, bud!" I smiled, the pilots beginning to laugh at that and Muggshot groaning at me.

"Now, we all know that in years past, some teams have endeavored in a little 'good natured' late night hi-jinks," the Baron said with a smile.

"Like when Team Canada stole Ecuador's parachutes!" one of the Belgians smiled.

"Or when Team Iceland sawed the landing gear off Korea's plane! Haha!" one of the Canadians smiled.

"Or when Portugal put rat poison in Team Muggshot's coffee machine!" the Iceland member smiled with a laugh, me looking at Muggshot with a smirk, him frowning at me.

"Don't you even think about it, lady," Muggshot frowned at me.

"Wouldn't dream of it, poochy-poo," I smiled at him in a mocking manner, the Baron then smirking at that.

"Yes, that was all so VERY funny but NO MORE! You know the rules, no one, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE is allowed outside for any reason other than going to the hangars! If my guards catch you outside and not on the trail, you will be beaten to within an inch of your life. No excuses! This will be a fair competition!" the Black Baron yelled.

"Same as last year and the year before, I got the scars to prove it!" one of Muggshot's men smiled with a couple of scars on his biceps. But I also noticed that some of Muggshot's flyers were actually female dogs. I guess he learned something at least.

"I bid you all a sweet night's rest, fellow aviators. Tonight, sleep like geese. And tomorrow, soar like eagles! High! What, what! Haha!" the Baron laughed as he then walked away, me looking at Henriette and following her with a smile.

"Let's go get some rain on our backs," I smiled at Henriette.

"Agreed, captain," Henriette smiled as we went outside into the outside of the hotel and both of us turned invisible and went on our way to the baron's castle, us actually jumping onto the rooftop of it with defy gravity as I then looked at the nearby catapult.

"I think I can make an easy access for our friends with this," I smiled as I approached it and activated the Bone Cracker Crush, making the catapult fly off of the top of the castle and land onto the ground without a scratch.

"Banana Slammah," Henriette smiled for a change. "Now let's go get that roster," Henriette smiled as she went into the hangar behind the castle and I followed, us going to the different picture safes and me doing my safe easily while Henriette did hers just as quickly, as hers had the giant numbers in the swamp while mine had the picture of the ruins and I found the picture in it. And the roster was in my safe, which I got and showed off to Henriette, her then making a warp hole for us to get back to the hotel easily and directly in our room.

"Here is the roster, boys and ladies. Read 'em and weep," I smiled as I showed them off to Meg and she was all smiles at it.

"Okay, this says that the ones we'll be facing in the first of the 2 rounds are Team Iceland and Team Belgium," Meg smiled.


	37. Hangar Defense and ACES Semifinals

**Chapter 37**

"Okay, as we're all aware, we'll be pitting up against Iceland and Belgium. But as we are also aware, we only have four flyers for our team while both of our opposing teams have 15 flyers apiece. So we're going to need to do some deviousness. First, Henriette and Neyla will proceed down the sewers to get into the vent systems for Team Iceland's room in the hotel. Steal one of their trademark viking helmets and then get back through the sewers. Then we'll destroy Team Belgium's prize plane and plant the helmet to frame Team Iceland! In the meantime, Sly, the Guru, and Murray will work together for a job. Murray and Sly will steal one of Belgium's monogrammed handkerchiefs while the Guru proceeds to bust down the door to the delivery truck carrying Team Iceland's lucky ice sculpture. Sly will then swipe the sculpture and promptly get rid of it while planting the handkerchief in the safe. You got that? We frame both teams and get them to go after each other!" Bentley smiled widely.

"And in the meantime, Bentley, Ella, Ruby and I will go to the air hangar and prepare it for any kind of issues. You never know when a rival team may want to do us harm... cough... Muggshot... cough," Meg said, that last bit making me and Sly laugh a bit as well as Ruby.

"Okay, time to go to the hangar, then," I smiled as our group then went to the areas and I went to the hangar with my three allies, sticking to the trail and the guards not bothering us so long as we were on it and heading to the hangars. Once inside, Bentley and Meg got into the room with the computers and gave us a message.

"Okay, girls, Penelope has given us information that a rival team is coming to do us harm at any time. You need to keep them out of here and away from our planes," Bentley said to us.

"I can already sense him coming. Three, two, one," Ruby frowned as the doors were then forced open from Muggshot's giant arms.

"Greetings, troglodytes! Didn't think I'd forget about Mesa City, did ya?" Muggshot asked, me smirking at that.

"I literally reminded you of it not an hour ago back in the lobby, remember? And you still have yet to do leg day," I frowned at him, Muggshot growling at me.

"I figure you jerks let me smash up yer aero-planes and we're even!" Muggshot said.

"Not on your life, Muggshot," Ruby said as she held a voodoo doll in hand, Muggshot gasping when he finally recognized her.

"I-Is that... you can't be... how'd you get so small, Ruby?" Muggshot asked in shock.

"After I found friendship with Ella and her friends, the magic in my body reverted me back to the age of 10 years old so I could experience a good childhood with real friends. Unlike some people who kill the parents of an innocent kid with no remorse at all," Ruby frowned.

"An' I'm supposed to believe that you never felt remorse?" Muggshot asked, Ruby sighing and curling her fist.

"I have. Every single day of my life since that night, I've had sorrow fill my body from agreeing to join you all on that night. I was told we were going to steal something, not kill a kid's parents!" Ruby growled angrily as she then put a pin inside of the voodoo doll in the butt and Muggshot yelped at that as he held his ass with his left hand.

"OW! Grrr... That tears it, butterballs! Okay, you mugs! I paid ya off good enough, time to crack some skulls!" Muggshot growled, me smiling at him and how he left his tender areas unprotected. I simply used slow time and rushed up to his crotch, punching it while yelling the catchphrase I knew and loved.

"BANANA... SLAMMAH!" I yelled as I punched him right in the groin, Muggshot whimpering and holding onto his nards with both hands and gulping.

"Hrrk... agh... I can't feel them no more... goddamn you, bitch! Don't think this is over! Yer not untouchable! For taking away my ability to have kids, this is just the beginning of a REALLY bad day," Muggshot growled as he tried to walk out on his hands and found it impossible with his groin in such pain.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you. The sound of your nuts cracking in half and your screams of pain distracted me from what you said," Ruby smiled.

"You bitch... okay, boys! Carry me back to the hotel! An' I don't want no whinin' about my weight! It's all muscle!" Muggshot growled as the doors then slid closed and he left with the pigs and bunnies carrying him out of our area.

"Okay, brainy bunch, Muggshot's mad, so get those security systems started," I smiled at them.

"Already completed and we're detecting multiple cronies coming through the sewers. And they're carrying explosives," Meg said as she and Bentley worked the two security computers with Meg taking the one with the lasers, trap door, and crusher while Bentley got the fire pit, battering rams, and electric poles. After hearing multiple sounds of hurt and badly injured guards below us, Bentley then looked outside and we saw that Muggshot's goons were preparing to assault our hangar from the outside.

"Okay, looks like we'll need backup. Just hope she's monitoring the radio frequencies," Bentley frowned as I got on my radio too to listen in. "Penelope, can you read me?" Bentley asked as Penelope's face showed up, her face looking to have a bit of food on it, namely cheese puff dust.

"Om nom... I read ya, Bentley," Penelope said with her mouth full.

"Awkward... look, we need some assistance," I said to her.

"Heard all about it. Traitorous Black Baron goons! I've already deployed my RC Chopper to assist," Penelope smiled.

"You're a heck of a woman!" Bentley smiled.

"Teehee! I know, that's what my homepage says," Penelope smiled.

"And my homepage says that I'm an awesome badass," I smiled.

"True dat, sis!" Meg smiled at me as Ruby then went outside to assist with her powers as well. For any guards that Penelope didn't get with her chopper's limited range with its Yank86 technology, Ruby gave the guards a bit of ecstasy and they fell to the ground and started to form a pile of hugs and cuddles.

"Heehee! Looks like your mystic friend is making the traitors double-cross each other," Penelope said, me trying to hold in my laughter and failing miserably.

"PPFFFTAAHHAAHAHAA! Oh, that was the best innuendo I've heard all month! HAHA!" I laughed out loud like a maniac.

"Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week," Penelope smirked at that as, after only a few more guards were dealt with, we finally stopped getting people attacking our hangar.

"Great job, Penelope! You're the queen of the skies!" Bentley smirked.

"Aw, those brutes deserved it! No one sells out the Black Baron and walks away scot free," Penelope smiled. "And don't worry, I'll make sure the Baron knows to punish Muggshot big time for this stunt."

"Thanks. It'll just be an addition to the massacre I did to his bouncy balls when he tried to break into our hangar earlier," I smiled.

"Bouncy balls? What do you... oh... OH! Sick burn!" Penelope smirked at me.

"Your joke was better than mine, though, I'll give you that much," I smiled at her.

"Thanks, Ella Unknown," Penelope smiled at me in blush before she cut the radio frequency, Bentley proceeding out of the place while Meg and Ruby stayed behind. We needed to go back to the hotel as we saw that the sparks were about to fly with the different teams.

"What the?! Where'd our ice sculpture go?! This handkerchief... the Belgians did this! Oh, those clunkers are gonna pay for this in that dogfight!" the Iceland pilot exclaimed as a loud scream could be heard in the Belgian hangar, a duo of Belgians running the whole way back to town angrily and seething in rage at the Iceland pilot. "So, you wanna confess to this being in our safe instead of our lucky ice sculpture, assholes?!" the Iceland pilot growled.

"No, we want to talk about THIS being on the wreckage of what used to be our prized plane! You clouts destroyed it!" the Belgian pilot said, him being a dalmatian and looking quite ticked and not at all stone faced.

"We did no such thing! You probably took this helmet and put it on your hangar and trashed yer own plane just to frame us!" Iceland growled angrily at the Belgian.

"And YOU wrecked our plane and got rid of your precious ice block to frame US for the crime YOU committed!... And give me back my handkerchief that you ALSO stole!" the Belgian growled angrily as he swiped the handkerchief in rage.

"THAT TEARS IT! You're going to be sorry you ever crossed us! When we take to the skies, we'll be seeing all you Belgians falling down to the fucking ground!" the Iceland growled angrily.

"What comes around, goes around, you sorry ice lover! You're going down so far, you'll be underground!" the Belgian growled lowly as the announcements then came on with Dimitri giving them.

"Attention all greasy-sweet pilots of the ACES competition! Get ready in your hangars for the semifinal round! The roster is as follows. In the first match is Team Cooper, Team Iceland, and Team Belgium. The second lineup is Team Black Baron, Team Canada, and Team Ecuador! And the final showdown in the skies is Team Muggshot, Team Korea, and Team Spain! First match contestants, please suit up and begin for battle!" Dimitri said with enthusiasm, me smiling at his words.

"Let's settle this!" the Belgian growled angrily at the Icelander.

"You bet your sorry asses!" the Icelander growled as they both proceeded to the hangars and got on their radios, me smiling at them basically telling all their allies to go directly at Iceland for Belgium and the Belgians attacking those from Iceland. I got to our hangar and joined Sly, Meg, and Neyla getting our planes and proceeding to the launch pad.

"Okay, guys! Iceland and Belgium will be at each others' throats out there, but you're still outnumbered!" Bentley yelled.

"Relax, turtle boy! This is gonna be GREAT! Don't take this awesomeness outta my hands!" I smiled as I took off first followed by Neyla, then Sly, and then Meg, all of us then joining the pilots in the main area and waiting until a horn blew out from below us loud enough for us to hear.

"EYES to the skies! The semifinal round between Team Iceland, Team Cooper, and Team Belgium is now underway! Get swift with the big, big action! Ar-oo-rum!" Dimitri smiled, me loving it anytime he spoke, but not getting distracted. I immediately went to one of the Belgian planes and roasted away his wings, the plane falling down and the pilots leaping from it afterwards and activating their parachutes. I then saw a couple more planes nearby and went over to them after saying a catchphrase that every Nintendo fan loved.

"Do a barrel roll!" I smiled as I then sent some gunfire at the planes of Iceland, the duo of planes getting destroyed as I took them out one after another!

"I've got three planes so far, guys! What's your status?" I asked them with a smile.

"I got 4 down," Sly smiled.

"And I got 7! Neyla?" Meg smirked with hyperactivity in her voice.

"I've gotten 2 so far, so I'm last place in our little contest," Neyla smiled. And adding onto the two others I destroyed during that speech, we now had 18 gone already! We continued to work the skies effortlessly until the two teams only had 2 pilots each, them only then getting the idea to go after us.

"Dammit! They tricked us! Wait... you don't think that..." one of the Belgians gasped as the Iceland member finished it for him.

"They pitted us against each other! They did those crimes!" the reindeer of the Iceland team exclaimed.

"Oh yeah? Where's the proof, boys? Sorry, but I see none... but I do see something on your tail," I smiled, that making the duo look behind them long enough for them to get distracted by what my partners did. They roasted the tails off of both planes and then one wing each while I got the other two planes by myself!

"Oh yeah! We are the absolute rulers of this round!" I smiled as me and Meg were tied with 9 planes each while Sly and Neyla were tied with 6 each.

"Humans are best at this gig it seems," I smiled at my furry friend and my furry fiancee.

"Hah! Well I'm still going to give you a run for your money in the bedroom when we're touch down to earth, Ella! You and me, alone, no clothes," Neyla smiled, me giggling and blushing at that.

"It's a date," I smiled at her widely as we then went down as Dimitri did the color commentary.

"The round is over! Team Cooper is going to le Finals! All of the crowds scream yay!" Dimitri said with excitement as I touched down onto the ground by the hangars and I then putted my plane directly into the hangar, Sly and the others doing the same and us smiling widely at how we were now in the finals.

"Okay, let's go have that bit of sex while the other two teams fight it out, Neyla. But try to keep it soft? I don't want my little baby to get hurt at all," I said to her as I was pointing to my gut.

"I promise I won't hurt your baby bump, Ella. I just want to ride you with you wearing one of those toys you got me for Christmas," Neyla said, my face blushing heavily as Sly and Meg heard her say that loud and clear.

"Neyla! That was supposed to be secret!... Ugh... let's get out of here, please?" I groaned as my face boiled in embarrassment.

"Sorry, you know how I like to tease," Neyla smiled.

"Yeah, yeah. You got that from me," I smiled back at her.


	38. Lemon With Neyla

**Warning! This chapter contains lemon between Neyla and Ella! You have been warned!**

* * *

**Chapter 38**

Upon our return to the hotel, Neyla and I got into our bedroom that we shared and I smiled at her happily.

"So, we're really doing this now, are we?" Neyla asked with a smile.

"I want to have at least one session before we get married, Neyla," I smiled at her happily as I traced my fingers down her back and across her tail, Neyla purring heavily at that.

"Ooh... you're good at getting me turned on, babe... okay," Neyla smiled as she then took her clothes off as did I, me smiling at how Neyla happened to look without clothes. Her boobs were about a d cup but they were covered up by her fur, same with her more personal areas that I would soon infiltrate with the toy I got.

"You look sexy when naked, Neyla," I smiled at her as I looked at myself in the nearby mirror and frowned at how I looked. My baby bump was a bit plump, making me look a bit more chunky than before. "More sexy than me, at least," I said with a sigh, Neyla coming over and kissing me on the lips with a smile.

"You look perfect, hon. And I'm not just talking to you... I really wonder how your little guy or girl is gonna turn out when they come out," Neyla smiled as she then bent down and kissed my baby bump, me smiling at her happily.

"Thanks, hon... okay, where's that toy at?" I smiled as I got into my purse and started to search for it. "Hmm... paraglider... hat I stole from the dog in my first adventure... baby rattle... ah, here we are," I smiled as I brought out the one that I got. The strap-on that was shaped like a regular penis, it actually having cum in it that I knew Neyla would love to try out.

"So what kind of animal had the cum in that strap-on? You know, in case I get pregnant," Neyla smiled.

"I made sure that it was a smaller animal. The cum belongs to a squirrel, but I couldn't get a name," I said while I traced my finger across Neyla's side and then touched her left boob, Neyla purring again as I saw something open up on her crotch. Her vagina was now in plain sight. I then put the strap-on across my waist and led Neyla over to the bed, her smiling at me happily as she was laying under me and she had the cutest look in her eyes. "Let's do it," I smiled as I then rubbed the fake penis against her vagina and earned some purring moans from Neyla before I then stuck it inside, Neyla moaning loudly before I muffled her with a kiss. "Shush, these rooms aren't soundproof, babe," I smiled at her.

Neyla smiled and purred at me as she then touched my boob with one of her furry hands. "Okay, I'm ready," Neyla smiled, me obliging as I began to move the strap-on inside of her, Neyla sighing in bliss from the feeling as I continued to kiss her on her furry face, kissing her nose, and even her neck, Neyla smiling and doing the same to me while I continued to go in and out of her vagina. The penis function was a bit odd to me, since it would only eject the sperm when it got constricted by a woman reaching her climax. I thought it was cool and I was definitely going to get Neyla to do just that.

While Neyla was kissing me on the neck, I started to pick up the pace and go deeper inside of her, Neyla gasping as I actually saw her stomach begin to distend from how deep I was going, Neyla moaning at that as I continued to pick up the pace, Neyla starting to pant heavily when this happened, me smirking as I kissed her and I felt the penis begin to constrict. She was nearing her climax. I decided that I'd do one more thing to get her to climax completely. I traced my finger across her tail while also doing a final, big thrust into her vagina, Neyla moaning out extremely loudly and me not even caring that we may have alerted the others in the hotel. I felt the penis expend its load into Neyla and I heard her purring heavily at the feeling of all the hot, sticky semen going directly into her uterus.

"Ahn... that was... incredible..." Neyla smiled at me, her being completely out of breath and me smiling at that.

"You go ahead and rest up, sexy," I smiled as I took the now-empty strap-on and threw it into the garbage can, me then getting my clothes on quickly and putting Neyla into a robe and putting the covers over her body, Neyla cooing and continuing to purr with every touch I made to her body. "Sweet dreams, my love," I smiled as I kissed her on the nose one last time.

"Nighty-night... mmm..." Neyla cooed, me giggling and closing leaving the room afterwards to see the others were currently going over the slideshow.

"I didn't miss anything, did I?" I asked with a smile.

"No, you're just in time, actually. They just started it," Ruby smiled at me.

"Ahem... after a stellar performance in the skies, our team has made it to the final round. Our opponents will be Team Muggshot and Team Black Baron. The rules in the finals are a bit different than usual. The team that takes out last year's champion is the winner. Got that, guys? It's all about taking down the Baron!" Bentley smiled.

"Our only real opposition would be Muggshot himself. We'll need to get him removed from the contest, especially after what he tried to do to our hangar. So, Ella will challenge him to a fight in the town square while Sly gets Carmelita to go to the same place. When the two meet, the sparks are sure to fly. And with some luck, Muggshot will be hauled off to jail, giving us clear skies for the finals," Meg smirked.

"However, the Baron won't be so easy to deal with. He commands an entire armada of loyal pilots, up to 40 of them, and has been known in years past to call in a fleet of gunships if things look grim. So, Ruby will force the local giant wolf to go to sleep so that the Guru can ride on its back and take out the guards that serve as his pilots. And finally, I will take to the field and hack the terminals to the aircraft control tower. If I can get access to it, I should be able to intercept any calls that the Baron will give to his gunships," Bentley said.

"By the way, Ella, we could hear that last one big time. You must've given her quite the rodeo," Henriette smirked at me, which made me blush slightly.

"We both had a blast, Henriette," I smirked slyly as I looked at Sly and Meg with a smile. "Now if you'll excuse us, we've got some jobs to do. When Neyla wakes up from her catnap, give her the rundown and get her prepped for the final dogfight," I smiled.

"You got it, Ella," Murray smiled widely.


	39. Flight of Fanciness And She Ain't Fat

**Chapter 39**

When I got into the lobby to see Muggshot, he looked at me angrily as I approached him, his glare cold and steady.

"Oh, beat it runt! The Baron's been givin' me the grill ever since that 'event' in yer hanger," Muggshot frowned.

"Oh, really? I'm the runt? If I remember right, you were the runt of the litter before you became the big, dumb mutt you are today," I smiled, Muggshot's eye twitching at that.

"What did you just say?" Muggshot asked with a growl.

"Oh, nothing, just wanted a little challenge in fisticuffs. Think you can take little ol' me on? I promise not to use any hats this time," I smiled at him, Muggshot growling at me.

"It wouldn't feel right poundin' on a scrawny and hairless girl with a fat gut, so no," Muggshot said, that making MY eye twitch. He just called me FAT! THAT was one word I would never take lying down!

"What did you just call me and my baby bump?" I growled, one of Muggshot's pilots gasping at that. It was one of the woman pilots. "Wanna play that game, eh? Okay, we'll play that game. You wanna call me and my baby fat? Well, your mother was a broken down shit pile with more slutty adventures than a porn star on a world- fucking tour!" I growled angrily at him, the pilots all getting around at that, Muggshot growling angrily at that.

"NOBODY talks that way about my motha! NOBODY! Alright, ya little runt! Looks like yer gonna get broken and yer baby aborted!" Muggshot growled angrily.

"Town square, five minutes. Don't be late," I growled at him as I then exited the hotel with fumes escaping from my head. He had gone too far with me when he called me that one word. I got to the town square with Sly and Carmelita having smiles on their faces and chatting on the rooftops, but upon them seeing me, they didn't laugh. They looked surprised at how mad I was.

"What happened, Ella?" Carmelita asked. I simply grabbed one of the nearby rocks and crushed it to bits with my one hand.

"That bastard called me and my baby fat... HE CALLED ME FUCKING FAT!" I yelled angrily to the skies, an echo sounding out through the valleys after I yelled that.

"Easy... who called you fat?" Carmelita asked.

"Muggshot. He's gonna be here in five minutes. When he gets here, proceed to shock him with that gun so badly that he falls unconscious, then promptly take him to jail. Once this dogfight is done, I'm going to go to his cell and pound the snot out of him," I growled angrily, actually seething with rage, something that I hadn't done since the adventures with the Clockwerk parts and the spice hypnosis I underwent.

"Understood. You better clear out before he gets here," Carmelita said. I nodded and grabbed Sly and got us to a safe vantage point to watch the fight, which was on the top of a nearby windmill that I got up to using my jumping skills. It just so happened to be one of the windmills with a computer and we actually surprised Bentley while he was on it, me smirking at him and waving hi.

"Don't give us away. We're gonna watch Muggshot go to jail for calling me fat," I frowned at Bentley, him gulping and nodding at that as I turned invisible. I'd already told the snarky members of the gang that I hated being called that word and Bentley and Sly were two of them. Pretty much the only ones in my gang that didn't have a snarky attitude were Murray, Ruby, and the Guru. Everyone else had a snarky nature to them so I told them not to say that word and they understood. "And so you know, if it wouldn't get us disqualified, I'd roundhouse kick Muggshot fifteen times in a row with time stopper before busting up his arms with a super punch each," I frowned, Sly whistling at that.

"Sounds like Muggshot is going to get quite the beating when you see him in prison," Sly smiled at me as I saw Muggshot appear in the town square, me hushing him and Sly also turning invisible.

"Mess with me? Peh! I'll show that runt!" Muggshot growled as he then looked at the rooftops and saw Carmelita. "HEY! You're that cop hag that busted me back in Mesa City!" Muggshot growled angrily, Carmelita smirking at that.

"Muggshot, alias 'Two-Gun Tony'. Also known as 'Meathead' Muggshot. Standing 5 foot 7, weighing 428 pounds, wanted in 7 countries with 13 outstanding warrants for your arrest. And yes, I am that 'cop hag' that busted you back in Mesa," Carmelita said, me smiling at how some of the things such as height and weight were different, as he was a bit bigger in full view than you'd expect.

"Well, wise guy... lady... feel like taking another shot at the title?" Muggshot asked.

"I'd rather put you behind bars for insulting my friend with a single word that you should never call a single woman. That, and I love to make big, tough criminals cry like the stupid babies they really are," Carmelita smiled, me smirking at how she stood up for me.

"I AIN'T NO STUPID BABY!" Muggshot exclaimed angrily as he and Carmelita began to have the shootout of the century! Carmelita connected numerous shots to Muggshot while he tried to shoot her out of the sky with his double machine guns and the small explosive bombs. Carmelita dodged every single bullet and shocked Muggshot at least 50 times before he finally got fatigued enough to fall down. And Carmelita added a couple more just for good measure, Muggshot gasping at that. "Mama... is that you?... I'm sorry... I didn't know they was yours..." Muggshot groaned as he fell to the ground in defeat.

"Target removed from the playing field," I smiled, Carmelita getting her radio out and calling up her ape guards. It took at least 30 minutes for the apes to appear at which point we saw the Guru hop onto the giant wolf and begin to ride around and attack the various guards, Carmelita being confused by the growling nearby, but still managing to cuff Muggshot with, get this, electrical handcuffs! If he tried to move out of them, it'd just give him an electric shock! Once they got away via helicopter, I looked at Sly with a smile as I then saw that Bentley was at the Aircraft Control Tower. And only a minute later, the Guru had finished up sending the guards to the hospital with the wolf. And a minute after that? Bentley finished hacking into the Aircraft Control Tower and started to talk quickly to Meg in the Binocucom.

"I've got total access!... Wait, the code's unstable! Everything is speeding up!" Bentley gulped as I saw a windmill nearby get its propellers detached and fly off the windmill before smashing right into the concrete dam for the river by the hotel! And once it connected, the river swelled with more water from the destruction of the dam, which made me smile.

"Windmill throwing stars... never thought I'd say that phrase out loud," I smiled.

"Sweet," Sly smiled as we then went back to the hotel to see that Neyla had woken up and she looked at me with a smile.

"Did you have a good nap, sweetie?" I smiled at Neyla as I kissed her on the cheek.

"It was the best nap I've ever had... and the best sex I've ever had," Neyla smiled with a purr.

"You've never stopped purring since you woke up, mate. The captain must really be your perfect match," Henriette smiled at her.

"We just very well may be," I smiled as I hugged Neyla to me by my side and she sighed happily as she rubbed my tummy, me smirking at her.

"Okay, now that we're all back, time to go over the plans to win the ACES finals. Time for Operation Turbo Dominant Eagle! In roughly 30 minutes, the B champs round between the losing teams will begin, which will provide perfect cover as Sly and Neyla go to the top of the Baron's castle. You're going to take special trackers that you'll need to put in each of the Baron's gunships. Once finished, return to the hangar to suit up for the finals. But be sure not to fall to the ground, or the trackers will malfunction from the sudden drop in altitude. Meanwhile, Murray and Henriette will proceed to take out the supports to the windmill that has the communications antenna on it. Once it's destroyed, the Baron will have to resort to a scrambled radio frequency to call in his gunships, allowing us to hear anything he says! And with the trackers installed, I'm guaranteed not to miss! Now let's move out and win us the finals and get Penelope on our gang!" Bentley smiled.

We then proceeded to our different tasks, me deciding to suit up early with Meg while the others did their jobs. And sure enough, I heard some noise outside in the form of the planes falling into the ground and me smirking at how Sly and Neyla arrived back with smiles on their faces. "Time to get prepped for the dogfight of a lifetime," Neyla smiled.

"Agreed," Meg smirked as we then got our planes all prepped and then we heard the announcements.

"We have the official winners of the B champs round! Team Canada wins silver medal! Now time for the finale of the lifetime! And message to all pilots, switch communications to radio! The communications antenna got whacked during the B champs round!" Dimitri said, me smiling as we then proceeded to roll our planes to the off ramp, Bentley appearing with the Guru, Murray, and Henriette.

"This is it, guys! Eye of the tiger! Just take out the Baron and we win! Go easy on the throttle, Sly! It's been sticking lately!" Bentley said.

"Quit worrying! Get our victory cake ready! I like chocolate! WHOO!" I smiled as I zoomed off first, then the others slowly joined me in the skies as we got up to the air and waited for all the other pilots to appear. When we heard the buzzers sound through the valley, we immediately got to work trying to go to the only pure black plane!

"The final round is upon us, gents and ladies! The contestants of Team Muggshot, Team Cooper, and Team Black Baron is now underway! The skies are ablaze with the DAAAANGEEEEEERR~!" Dimitri sung the last bit loudly, which made me smile at him having fun. I eventually found the Black Baron and started to pelt him with gunfire, the plane actually being made of a tougher material than the other planes, so it took many more hits to get anything to happen, but I eventually got some of the tail to fly off before the Baron dodged my fire and did a loop, him trying to get behind me, but I simply did evasive actions while Meg and Neyla proceeded to chase after the champ and pepper his left wing, managing to get a good chunk out of it and the Baron to spin out a bit before righting himself by continuously holding the steering right.

"Drat... those Coopers are good," Baron said in the radio as he then got on the radio. "Attention all gunships, enter and take out the Cooper aircraft. Send in a spare plane as well," the Baron said, me smirking at that as Bentley I got on the radio before Bentley could.

"I do believe that you just broke our little promise, Baron. Need I tell everyone right now over this little radio frequency?" I smiled, the Baron gulping at that and immediately sighed in defeat.

"Nevermind, gunships. The winning team is Team Cooper," the Baron said, his voice turning into that of Penelope as he spoke as she took off the mask to reveal her head, the bogeys gasping as the Baron let down his parachute and we then touched down to the ground to meet up with her, Penelope immediately getting us and rushing us to the winner's circle and presenting us with the trophy! Everyone cheered at us being the champs, but they were, of course, quite surprised at Penelope's true identity as the Black Baron. Bentley then smiled and helped Penelope out of her suit and she smiled at Bentley.

"So you were the Baron this whole time, huh?" Bentley asked her.

"Yeah, I was... I'll explain over dinner. My treat," Penelope smiled as we got our trophy and went back to the hotel where Penelope told all the chefs to prepare a feast for her and our gang, me smirking at that as well as the fact that she listened to my request for cake and, as luck had it, she had a triple fudge chocolate cake that she was saving for the winners!

"You know me so well, Penny!" I smiled as the cake was delivered first for an unfair appetizer, everyone digging into it and getting a piece each... except for me. I got two pieces since I was carrying a growing baby in my tummy.

"I originally came up with the Disguise for the Black Baron when I was 10 years old, nearly 4 years ago. I did that so I could get in because of the strict age requirements of the ACES contest... but when I won, everyone saw the Baron as a celebrity and it got to the point that I barely had any time to myself and I barely was able to do anything while I was the Black Baron. Hell, I've even had to sleep in the costume many times while I had a dummy in my image sleep in my room to fool my workers," Penelope frowned.

"That's rough. So how old are you right now?" I asked her.

"I'm actually 14 years old and counting. And if you're curious about something else, the legal age of consent for rodents is 13," Penelope smiled to Bentley with a wink, Bentley smiling and blushing a bit at that.

"Daaw! Love at first sight," Ruby smiled at that, which only got both of them to blush and giggle.

"Now that we have free time, I say we take a vacation," I smiled widely before stuffing my face full of another bite of cake, just as the first main course came out. An entire bowl of cocktail weenies! And the next one was a roasted turkey!

"Then I'll treat you all to an aerial tour of Holland! You're sure to love the view from above," Penelope smiled widely.

"I'm sure we will, Penny," Henriette smirked as she chugged on her mug of root beer, me smiling at her.

"I'm guessing this is that pirate Cooper that I've heard about?" Penelope smirked.

"Got that right, mouse lass! Captain Henriette 'One Eye' Cooper, famous plunderer among pirates since the 1600s! As for how I'm in this timeline, you can thank Ruby, Captain Ella, an' a certain asshole butterfly for me getting resurrected," Henriette smirked.

"You mean Brian Wingdust, right?" Penelope asked, me nodding at that. "I heard of that whole debacle from a certain bird during the planning of this year's contest. His name was Arpeggio and he said that your group was the ones that gave him his wings. I wanted to know if he wanted to join the ACES, but he said he was planning on a world tour with his newfound flight," Penelope smiled.

"Sounds like he's having a blast, then," Neyla smiled widely.

"I'm sure we'll meet him again one day," Ruby smiled as we then continued to scarf our food down our throats. We needed to enjoy this feast to its fullest after our hard won victory... and by hard won, I mean that we had zero to no issues at all.


	40. Panda King and A Big Cock

**Chapter 40**

The week long tour of Holland from Penelope was actually quite exhilarating for all of us, as she fit all of us into a single plane (with some strange contraption that TOTALLY wasn't a shrink/growth ray) and showed us all the sights that Holland had to offer, including at least three different restaurant trips, a couple plane museums, and, her personal favorite, a science and research museum, which Bentley loved as well.

"So where'd you get that freaky tech, Penny?" Henriette asked Penelope as we ordered take-out Chinese food in our Hideout, Bentley looking over the diagrams for Doctor M's fortress while we sent the directions for the delivery guy to go to the train station, where Sly and Ruby would be in disguise to accept the food.

"You mean the size destabilizer? I got it off of Thief Net from one of my contacts... they didn't actually build it, but they stole the blueprints from that science center we went to and mass-produced it for anyone who ordered it off of that single website," Penelope smiled, me smirking at how she was talking about one of the side power-ups from the game and how she happened to have one at her disposal.

"I wouldn't mind having some fun with Neyla with a device like that... what do you think, hon?" I smiled at my feline fiancee, her giggling and blushing at that.

"We'll flip a coin and whoever wins shrinks the other to do as they please," Neyla smirked, me giggling at that while Bentley and Henriette made fake gagging noises, which made the Guru and me smirk and laugh as well as get Penelope to giggle too.

Bentley then finally finished looking over the blueprints just as Sly and Ruby returned with the food in hand, us beginning to eat it as Bentley started to talk.

"Okay, I've looked over the blueprints for a good hour now, and though it pains me to say it, my demolition expertise isn't going to be enough for this big of a job. If we're going to bust into the Cooper Vault, we'll need to hire a full-time demolitions specialist, the best in the entire field," Bentley said.

"Heh, we could use another boom boy on the team. So, who's it going to be?" Meg smiled, her winking at me.

Bentley then breathed in and sighed deeply. "The Panda King..." Bentley said, Sly almost choking on his Chinese food and actually coughing up a chopstick that got lodged in his throat!

"You cannot be serious, Bentley! You can't!" Sly exclaimed in shock, me seeing he was angry at that.

"Who's the Panda King again? I don't think I ever heard of him," the Guru asked.

"Me neither. Who is he?" Neyla asked.

"He was a member of the original gang that killed my parents when I was just a kid, him being the one who burned down the entire house after he stole the Thievius Raccoonus! And after disbanding, he took up a nice little job of burying entire villages in snow from avalanches! So, we took him down, but only after we knocked the stuffing out of him! There is no way we're letting that monster on our team!" Sly said angrily, Ruby's frown also apparent.

"I refuse to go. You can't make me," Ruby frowned.

"Listen, I know you may think that he's still evil, but I've done some research, and the Panda King has left his life of crime for a whole year now, living as a monk practicing meditation in the Kun-Lun Mountains. I know you don't want to, but he's the only guy I could think of as 'the best' of the demolition experts,"Bentley frowned, Sly frowning and nodding at that.

"Fine, we'll go, but we're definitely NOT friends with him. Unless he apologizes and he actually helps out, I am not going to be friendly with him," Sly said. I sighed at Sly and put a hand on his shoulder while also grabbing Ruby and bringing her close as well.

"Listen, guys, we're going to go there and see what he has to say. If something happens and he attacks us, we won't do the deal. Let's just go there and see what he has to say, okay?" I asked, hugging the two tightly and them sighing afterwards.

"Alright, let's go on a plane trip to China," Penelope said as we then got up our disguises and went onto the nearest flight to China.

* * *

Upon arrival to China, we had to walk roughly 3 miles uphill to the Panda King's shrine, which was quite hard on our feet and we were panting by the time we got to the area he was meditating at. When we finally got there and we looked up at his pagoda from our area, Sly then spoke.

"Stay sharp, team. For all we know, the Panda King is more dangerous than ever," Sly said.

"How can you say that? Just look at him. Haven't you ever seen someone more at peace with the world?" Bentley asked... Ruby however? She gasped when she read his mind.

"He's not at peace... he may be in meditation, but he's thinking about some bad things that happened to him... I'm getting mixed vibes... something about a daughter and a ruthless general... forced marriage... the date set for a year and 6 days after he was exiled to meditation... oh dear," Ruby gulped.

"That's... horrid..." Henriette frowned with a shiver as I looked at Sly.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Let's get up there, break him from his trance, and we'll be able to talk to him on our terms," I said.

"Understood. Ruby? Feel like helping out with your magic?" Bentley asked.

"Indeed," Ruby smirked as she made our non-flying members begin to defy gravity up to the area with the Panda King's shrine and I saw Penelope had her RC car in her pocket and that it was shrunk up slightly. Then I flew up there with Sly and Henriette and I used the move everyone loved.

"Banana... SLAMMAH!" I said out loud as I slammed my fist into the pagoda, making an accessible bridge to the Panda King's shrine and us all joining up there after.

"Looks like we're going to need to break him out of this trance," Bentley said.

"Okay, let's just shout in his ear," Sly said.

"No, to break him out of this trance, we'll need to delve deep in his mind," Bentley frowned.

"A hacksaw, then?" Sly asked again, me smirking and swatting the back of his head. "Hey! What was that for?" he asked.

"Not the time, ringtail," I frowned at him as I looked at Ruby with a smile. "Ruby, can you and the Guru bridge mine and the Panda King's minds?" I asked my mystic friends.

"Sure enough, just be careful. If you get hurt in his mind, it'll affect you in reality as well," Ruby warned as I sat on the ground and closed my eyes, feeling my consciousness fade into the arena I first fought the Panda King.

"I see you carry the canes of the notorious Cooper Thief Clan. Have you come here for revenge? To steal back the Thievius Raccoonus?" The Panda King asked, me smiling and shaking my head.

"No, mister King. I'm here to help you rescue your daughter," I said, that making the Panda King confused and start to speak without the trance.

"How did you know of my little Jing King's kidnapping?" Panda King asked.

"My mystic friend read your thoughts while we made it to your shrine. You know, Ruby?" I smiled, Panda King frowning and nodding at that.

"I sense the fire in your heart is of truth, young female warrior... let us meet in person," Panda King said as I woke from the mind joining and the Panda King opened his eyes in a glare.

"Um... hi there... so, can you tell us about Jing King?" I asked, the Panda King then telling us his tale.

"My daughter, Jing King, was kidnapped a year ago by a wicked general from the northern area of these mountains. General Tsao. He wishes to forcibly marry my daughter in only three days of time... and he has exiled me from his land, preventing me from seeing my beautiful darling ever again..." the Panda King said with sadness.

"Well, like the old motto goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. If we help rescue your daughter and give this general the business, do you think you could help us out with a big job? We need an expert demo man for this gig," I said, the Panda King frowning and nodding.

"Very well. I shall assist you. I will lead your gang to Tsao's lands and to where my outfit and ammo lay ready," Panda King said. We then started to walk some more and Murray groaned after awhile.

"Man... I miss the van... we never had to walk anywhere back then," Murray frowned.

"I miss her too, mate. I miss her as much as the Cooper Mistress... ah... That boat was me finest vessel in all the world... what I'd give to man her one last time," Henriette smiled at her fond memories.

We eventually reached the area of General Tsao's domain and we entered a duo of houses. One was down on the road a bit, where the Panda King entered, and the other was at the top of a small cliff overlooking the palace itself. I then decided to do some surveillance on Tsao and actually witnessed the sight of him kicking the innocent puppy... TWICE! I got out of there soon after, him not even knowing I was there when I was invisible! I then rushed back to the Safehouse with some of the photos I took, mainly of Tsao and Jing King... contrary to the game, she was visible in her prison and I actually got a good look at her. She looked like the saddest girl you'd ever seen. Her eyes were red and bloodshot and it looked like her face was covered in saltwater tears. And her appearance? She was much thinner than you'd think for being a panda, around the same height as me, and having her blue hair done up in a geisha style. And her kimono was pure red with yellow parts to it, like what Carmelita's disguise was like in the past.

"Okay, here are the photos," I said as I gave Bentley the photos and I started to talk for the slideshow. "As we're all aware, our goal now is to rescue Jing King, the Panda King's daughter. She's being held in a prison in the palace by a single General Tsao," I said as I showed his picture next on the slideshow. "A real asshole, this guy. Here's what he did when I surveyed him!" I said as I showed them the photo where he kicked the puppy! TWICE!

"Horrible! He's hurting an innocent puppy!" Penelope gasped with disbelief.

"He's planning to forcibly marry Jing King in only a few short days, so we'll need to learn as much about this wedding as we possibly can. First, Ella will go to Tsao in disguise and offer to be hired as a wedding planner so we can have an ear on the inside. And she'll also try to get everyone else a job with him. But then we need more information. Sly and I will go out to steal a couple of keys from some guards to enter Tsao's computer boardroom. Once inside, I'll use a new model of bomb called the Grapple Cam to get inside past all the security and access the wedding plans on Tsao's computer. And while we're all doing this, I've picked up some unusual radio frequencies from the nearby waters around the palace. Murray, Penelope, and Ruby will proceed out and find the source of the disturbance. You never know, it may come in handy later on," Bentley said, me gulping at the fact that I was the one to go in front of Tsao to offer a job as wedding planner... but I didn't want to spoil anything in the story. I simply got on a convincing disguise so that I looked respectable and I entered the palace, where I heard Tsao speaking with Jing King.

"No! You can't come out yet my blossom!" Tsao said... well, scolded would be a more apt analogy of this douche.

"But... please... my father would be so worried... just let me tell him I'm alright... I beg of you, Tsao, let me out of this prison! Is this the way you woo your wife? You have shown me nothing but cruelty... I am so unhappy..." I heard Jing King sob in her room, me frowning at the despicable actions of Tsao before I then entered with a forced smile and approached Tsao, him raising an eyebrow at me... most likely due to me not disguising the fact that I was human and... you know... pregnant.

"Greetings, General Tsao. I have heard about your lavish marriage and request that I may be hired on as a wedding coordinator," I said, trying to act respectable... Tsao didn't look angry, though. He looked more confused than anything.

"And what would you happen to be, young woman? It is very odd to have an outsider come to me that I know not a thing about, including species," Tsao said.

"I am a woman named Ella Farthington, and I am a very rare species of creature on this planet called a human. So rare, in fact, me and my sister are the only ones around and there are no non-sentient beings of our kind at all," I said, trying to keep respectable as Tsao continued to observe me.

"Indeed, I have heard sightings of a strange duo of women that travel the world, but of what occupation I never knew. Do tell, what is your occupation?" Tsao asked, me surprised, but hiding it as I told a lie.

"Well, I am very well-known as a top of the line planner of many different events. Honestly, planning for weddings, parties, and even funerals is my greatest strength," I smiled at him.

"Very well, I shall hire you as wedding planner, but you must follow my instruction on how to do certain tasks," Tsao said.

"Understood, my lord. But I must ask, do you need any kind of other hired assistance during this wedding?" I asked with a smile.

"I may be interested in hiring a photographer. Such a wedding of splendor and extravagant beauty should be captured for generations to come!" Tsao said with vigor in his voice.

"Well, I happen to know one of the finest photographers. She's taken numerous jobs with me around the globe taking photos for the events I plan," I smiled at him.

"Really? Well, I will be the judge of that. I'll need to see some samples before I were to give her the job," Tsao said.

"Understood my lord, I'll have her come around shortly," I smiled at him.

"You better not be wasting my time, miss Ella. I am very, very uncharitable when people waste my time," Tsao said, me nodding and leaving the palace and giving Neyla a ring.

"Hey, Neyla? I got the job as wedding planner and Tsao said he'd be willing to hire a wedding photographer. You think you can take some good photos? He asked for some samples in person in order to get the job," I smiled at her.

"I can do that immediately. I just need to make my fake accent when around him and use that disguise technique you taught me," Neyla smiled as I then saw her appear from the Safehouse and she was in a great getup for photography, her bonnet back on her head where it belonged, but it being blue as opposed to her red and yellow pattern. She also had her outfit consist of some formal attire like mine, but her's being more inspired by Great Britain, which made me smirk. She also had her Binocucom take the form of a cool camera, which she used to start taking some photos, me smirking at the photos being taken and how they both went back to Bentley and how she got them from her camera from the film. After taking around 5 photos, she then entered the palace and I stayed outside, wondering how it'd go for her.

After waiting for a bit, Neyla came out with a smile on her face.

"You got the gig?" I smiled at him.

"I got the gig," Neyla smirked, me gushing at that... before I heard some turret fire from the far west by the bridges. I then had us look out to that area with me letting down my disguise to see the awesomeness. Murray and Ruby pulling the van across the bridge while the Panda King eliminated the guards with his fireworks if they were in the way and Ruby using her powers on any the Panda King missed to make them high on ecstasy! They then pulled the van all the way back to a small hole in the wall and I smiled at them.

"Is that... IT IS! It's the van!" Neyla gasped in shock in her real accent now, us then rushing over to the Safehouse happily with Neyla letting down her disguise on our way back, us smirking at Murray and Ruby.

"You got ol' blue back! How?!" I heard Henriette ask as she jumped down from the Safehouse as well.

"She was the cause of the radio signal! She was calling for me to help her! I'm so happy!" Murray said with happiness.

"I thought she was with the great big blue... this is a day for celebration! We have our most loyal member back on board!" Henriette smiled happily. It was awesome to see her so happy for a change. We then saw Bentley return from the east and we finally had to go over what we had learned, though I did make it a note to wear something different as my choice of outfit in case Tsao got wise to our plan. And soon, it was time for the second slideshow.

"Okay, thanks to our most recent efforts, I'd say we know enough to save Jing King. In fact, I have all the plans down on my computer and-" Bentley said as I then saw the door open and I gulped. Tsao. "What the?! General Tsao?!" Bentley gasped as I then got in the way of him and the computer, me being in a thick enough garb that he didn't recognize me. Heavy coat, hat that covered my face, and my arms, hands, legs and feet all covered.

"And who would you happen to be?" Tsao frowned as he tried to take the computer and I stopped him with a menacing growl.

"Come any closer to me and you'll be getting a big fat banana slammah to your beak," I frowned at him in a deep, menacing growl to intimidate Tsao. No dice. He grabbed the computer and tried to escape with quick speeds, but I used slow time and yelled it angrily and at a deep volume. "BANANA SLAMMAH!" I yelled as I connected the punch just as he was turning to leave, Tsao gasping as he was sent flying from the punch over to the top of a nearby cliff, where he proceeded to go into by crawling through and I saw he still had the computer on him.

"Guys, Tsao went up there with our computer! We got to get it back! It wasn't in sleep mode when he took it, so he can very easily see all our plans!" I said with seriousness, everyone gulping and nodding at that.

"Got it! Ruby, you think you can help Sly, Ella, and me up there?" Henriette asked.

"Of course!" Ruby said. And soon,we were off to face Tsao. But of course, I had to be careful when I crawled on my baby bump and I took up the rear as the other two went first. Soon I had to face the bad bird in person and I knew I'd prove to him that girls weren't just playthings. And I'd do it with my good friends knuckle and sandwich.


	41. Ella's Greatest Gamble

**Chapter 41**

After crawling carefully through the hole behind Sly and Henriette, I finally got on the other side just as Sky spoke.

"I'm not ashamed to rely on my friends," he said seriously, Tsao glaring at that before he saw me, which I still had my disguise on.

"Who needs friends when you can have servants? Who needs allies when you can have obedience?" Tsao said angrily.

"Mate, that world view was shattered ages ago, back in me Pappy's years of the 1600s! An' I for one put me mates first, 'specially me captain up there on that cliff," Henriette frowned as she pointed up to me.

"Enough chat, worthless woman! Time to show you why I am your superior!" Tsao growled as he then rushed in to try and attack Henriette, but I jumped off the cliff and slammed my foot directly into Tsao's head, Tsao gawking at the blow as he was sent falling down to the very bottom of the bamboo forest, me then jumping after him with Sky and Henriette.

"Well done, Sly Cooper. I'm surprised by your female friend's captain," Tsao said with a growl.

"Look, just let Jing King go and give us back our computer and we'll leave you be at peace," I growled in my deep voice.

"No! Jing King is mine! Once our bloodlines cross it shall be glorious! With the Tsao name, a new generation of Kings will be unstoppable!" He growled angrily.

"But she doesn't want to marry you!" Sly said angrily. Then came the coup de grace of awful words.

"She's a woman! She doesn't know up from down!" Tsao growled, me finally having enough of his arrogance.

"Okay then, Mister Cock. Wanna know who I am?" I growled at him.

"Yes... who are you to best me in a battle of strength?" Tsao asked. I simply threw off my hat and changed my outfit into that of my thieving costume and Tsao was left speechless.

"Yes, I am the esteemed wedding planner that sent you flying with a single punch and sent you falling with a single kick. So if I were to make a guess, not only did I send you up, but I also sent you down. So who's the better of us now, cocksucker?" I frowned at him angrily, Tsao frowning before his beak formed into a smile.

"It appears I have been mistaken... Jing King isn't the ideal suitor to make the Tsao name more powerful. It is you, Ella Farthington," Tsao said, Henriette's jaw dropping as I looked at him with a frown.

"You want to marry me? Fine, I don't care. Just let Jing King go," I frowned.

"Very well, let us be off to my palace," Tsao said as he simply grabbed me around the arms and I simply lifted them off of me.

"I am perfectly content with going there of my own accord, Tsao," I frowned as I thought some things to Ruby. 'Ruby... Tsao's going to free Jing King and wants me to be his wife instead. Get the others to get a battery for Murray's van and get a plan together to swap me for Carmelita the day before the wedding while also making off with the loot in his treasury,' I said in thoughts as I quickly swiped the computer off of Tsao and tossed it at Sky before Tsao could react fast enough.

"Hmm... you are unnaturally fast, Ella. How do I know you won't escape your room unattended?" Tsao asked.

"So long as Jing is returned to her father, I can assure you I will stay put like a good girl. Just don't hurt me like you did to that innocent puppy and I won't hurt you," I frowned, Tsao frowning at that last statement, but saying nothing as I heard Ruby talk to me in my head.

'Okay, Ella, we're going to get a plan together. Just stay safe and do what he says until we arrive,' Ruby thought to me, me smirking as Tsao led me to his palace and we entered, him walking me over to Jing's room and opening the doors, much to the panda girl's surprise.

"G-General Tsao?" Jing asked in worry.

"You are free, Jing King. Go back to your father or whatever you want. I have found myself a better suitor," Tsao said, me smiling at her and Jing producing tears again... but this time, they were full of joy. Jong literally ran to me and hugged me tightly.

"Thank you... you have saved me... I am so happy..." Jing sniffled happily to me as I ended her hug.

"Go to the house on the southwestern cliff. You'll be safe there. Right, Tsao?" I frowned at the cock.

"Indeed, you are guaranteed to be safe there," Tsao said with a frown.

"I will never forget this day... I thank you from the bottom of my heart!" Jing cried happily as she then left the palace with joy in her heart, me simply going into the room and sitting down inside, Tsao closing the door afterwards and locking it. Now I had to play the waiting game.

* * *

**Sly POV:**

When Ella actually managed to get the Panda King's daughter freed from Tsao, it was a bittersweet moment for all of us. Jing King was now free, but now we had to rescue Ella from General Tsao's clutches. Luckily, though, Ella, as always, was two steps ahead of the game, as we returned to the hideout to see Ruby had gotten a message from her as to how to proceed with a plan.

"Okay, according to the message Ella gave to Ruby, she has a plan in place for us to steal all of General Tsao's treasure and do a bat and switch before the day of the wedding happens. We'll need to find a battery nearby to power up Murray's van, as the deep freeze shorted it out. Once found, Henriette will use the electric ball move to charge it to full capacity, then get it to a safe spot to stabilize it before returning here to connect it to the van. But Tsao, since the event with Ella, has gone all out on security. He's raised an army of hopping vampires and a bunch of magical dragon heads as defense for the palace. So, Penelope, Guru, and Murray will go out to handle the dragon heads while Sly and the Panda King destroy the crypt that the vampires' life forces are connected to. No more crypt, no more vamps. Meanwhile, Ruby, Bentley, and I will try to contact Carmelita to join us for the heist. She's sure to be quite pissed at Tsao for the crimes he's committing, as the production of zombies is a felony offence as well as kidnapping," Meg frowned.

When she said the job that I was going to do, I hesitated. "Are you sure you want me to team up with the Panda King?" I asked with a gulp.

"He's the only guy who can demolish that crypt, Sly. His firepower is the only thing powerful enough to take out the crypt. He just needs some more oomph to his fireworks, so you'll need to team up with him to go to the different caches scattered around the palace while taking out vampires that get in your way," Bentley said.

"Okay... fine," Sly frowned.

"I'll go talk to him right now and we'll-" Bentley was about to say, but then we heard the door open from behind us and we all gawked at who it was.

"Jing King?!" all of us exclaimed all at once. She didn't answer, and instead cried happily as she hugged me of all people with tears in her eyes.

"I have been given the greatest gift I can possibly ask for... all because of you and your friend, Ella," Jing smiled kindly at us.

"Let's go talk to your dad, then. He's down in this house here," Bentley said, all of us proceeding down to the Panda King's area that he resided at and knocking on the door. And when he opened the doors to see Jing King, his face went from shocked to genuine happy tears in less than 5 seconds.

"Father!" Jing cried happily as she hugged her father's chubby body tightly and happily.

"My beloved Jing... I... How did you do it?" Panda King asked in shock.

"All thanks goes to Captain Ella, mate. She actually convinced that general cock to switch Ella for Jing because of Ella being much tougher than anyone from her family. An' honestly, I think that's true. No matter which way ye look at it, Captain Ella is not only tough, but she's also courageous, humble, forgiving, and quite the little brainiac. No one else could've thought up a plan like that in so little time," Henriette smirked widely, the Panda King smiling and nodding at that.

"I thank you all... but I fear that our work here is not yet done," Panda King said, me being a bit confused by what he said. "Tsao still has custody of Ella Unknown. Until we rescue her, we must remain here and finish our duties."

I was a bit surprised that he said that, but at the same time, very relieved. He probably thought of Ella in a new light after what Henriette said to him. "Okay, Mister King. Before we go after Ella, she gave us a plan of attack to not only free her and get Tsao thrown in prison, but also steal his treasury right under his nose. But before that, we need you and Sly to team up and steal some fireworks from some local caches to destroy a hopping vampire crypt. If that crypt is around when we try to pull off the operation, then the hopping vampires would overwhelm us in no time," Meg said.

"I understand. I shall assist you in whatever you wish from this moment onward," the Panda King nodded.

"We'll keep watch over Jing King while you go off with Sly and the other teams perform their jobs," Meg smiled.

"I put my trust in you, sister of Ella Unknown," Panda King smiled at her.

"Then let's go blow up some vampires," I smiled at him, my unease finally wearing off.

"Indeed," the Panda King smiled as we proceeded off to the first crypt marked in my Binocucom. It was time to get the heist in place to rescue the true leader of our ragtag gang.


	42. Treasure Steeling and Dragon Slaying

**Chapter 42**

**Sly POV:**

Once we made sure the crypt was blown to smithereens, Murray's team had defeated all the dragon heads around the town, and Henriette secured and powered up Murray's van with the battery, we were finally ready to go over the plan for the heist, this time, with my favorite cop right next to me.

"Okay, everyone, time to go over a rescue, bait and switch, and take all of Tsao's fortune in a plan I call Operation Wedding Crasher! First, Sly, Penelope, Murray, Neyla, and Ruby will go up to the treasure room to break in and steal the goods. Meg, Guru, and I will go down to the docks below to help carry off the loot haul. In the meantime, Henriette and Carmelita will proceed into the palace to switch out Ella for Carmelita right out from under Tsao's nose! We'll give her the signal and she'll warp out of the room in an instant, allowing Carmelita to enter the captivity room with a disguise on that makes her look like Ella, provided by Henriette. And once this is done, we'll rush out of here and, on the wedding day, Carmelita will arrest General Tsao for raising the undead and 2 counts of kidnapping," Bentley said.

"I agree. A man like this should not be allowed to stay rich and pompous. If what you guys say is right, he said some truly awful things about a woman he wanted to marry and kept in captivity for over a year. The exact words, as you stated were 'she's a woman, she doesn't know up from down', right?" Carmelita frowned.

"Right... that's exactly what he said," Henriette frowned as Jing pouted at that.

"It's bad enough he kidnapped me and prevented me from even talking to my father for so long... but to then say something that rude and horrid about me behind my back? He deserves the worst. He's not a man. He is a monster," Jing frowned.

"Indeed. At least ol' Clockwerk did the deed quickly and without pain. This asshole is just sick an' twisted to the point that there aint' nothin' to like about him other than his name. An' he treats us ladies like filth, when he's ten times more filthy than even me, an' I've been a pirate since the 17th century!" Henriette frowned.

"Uh... yeah... I agree about you smelling bad, Henriette. I didn't want to draw attention to it, but you don't shower at all and it really hurts our noses," Ruby smirked as she scrunched her snout.

"Well, how about I take a shower after Ella is rescued?" Henriette smiled.

"Deal," Neyla smirked as we then moved out to our position. Once I was at the top of the treasure room with Neyla, we then did a roll call.

"Let's do a roll call in alphabetical order," Sly said.

"Ready!" Bentley said.

"Roger," Carmelita said.

"Ready and willing," Guru said.

"Aye! Ready, to plunder, mates!" Henriette smirked.

"In position," Meg smirked.

"I'm pumped!" Murray smirked.

"Ready to do the dirty," Neyla smiled next to me.

"And so am I!" Penelope smiled widely.

"Let's do this, everyone! The sooner we do this, the sooner we can get some legit Chinese food!" Ruby smirked.

"Alright, everyone. Let's do it!" I smiled as I then proceeded with Neyla through the vent system at the top of the treasure room and, after crawling for a bit, we finally entered into the main area and we then opened the door for Murray, Penelope, and Ruby to get in.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Murray asked.

"According to the blueprints, the treasure is located at the far side of the room under the dragon statue. We'll need to destroy this laser fence by eliminating the computer by the statue. My RC car should do the job, provided I don't trip the blue security beams in the process," Penelope said.

"I can help out too, you know? I have the invisibility trick," Sly smiled.

"Not likely. The lasers and the blue security beams sense body temperature too. You'd trip the alarms if caught by the beams and get burnt to a crisp by the lasers," Penelope frowned.

"Oh man, this is getting tense," Ruby frowned as Penelope then started to maneuver her RC car through the area with a special camera mounted on it that she was able to use with her Binocucom. She moved it through the area carefully until she blasted apart the computer in one blast!

"There! The laser door should be going... away?" Penelope said in confusion as the lasers remained online.

"They must have a second computer somewhere else around here!" Neyla gawked.

"But... there was only supposed to be one! The security nodes are still active! If that second computer fully boots up, there's no way we'll get in!" Penelope complained in frustration and confusion.

"Penelope, we've been doing this for a long time. And if there is one thing I've learned, it's that, when a plan gets messed up, always fall back on the golden rule," Murray said, me smirking at that.

"Yeah, what's that?" Neyla asked.

"Break stuff!" Murray, me, and Ruby all said at the same time.

"Y-You're right! If I can destroy all the security nodes before the other computer comes online, the laser door should deactivate! I don't have much time!" Penelope said as she began to start attacking the nodes as Ruby also helped with some of her magic, her then bopping her head as I suddenly felt the place around us start to have some kind of beat to it.

"HICK HICK HICK!" Ruby exclaimed loudly as some strange magical flames emerged and attacked some of the nodes in tune with the music that played around us.

"HICK BOOM HEY!" Ruby yelled, getting three more nodes destroyed as Penelope got 10 under her belt with her car. "HEY! HICK! HEY!" Ruby yelled as she and Penelope attacked the final few nodes and the lasers then went away in a snap.

"OH YEAH!" Ruby yelled happily.

"Wow! You girls are pretty good at breakin' stuff. I... uh... I can respect that," Murray said, me smirking at how he was at a loss for words.

"Thanks, Murray," Ruby smirked as she gave the big guy a hi-five.

"Now let's get at that loot," Neyla smiled as we proceeded forward and we found the dragon statue and the fact that the treasure was protected by a double button trap door.

"On three, Sly?" Neyla smiled.

"Got it," I smirked as I got to my button on the left. "One, two, THREE!" I said, both me and Neyla pushing it at the same time, but the trap door only opening slightly to reveal...

"ACK! Dragons! HICK! HEY! HICK!" Ruby exclaimed in surprise as she used her mojo magic to attack two dragon heads that appeared out of the trap door, the final of the three mojo magics simply returning to her after it missed its target.

"Okay, one more time. One, two, THREE!" Neyla said, us pushing the buttons as the trap doors then opened up and we then were granted access to the treasure!

"Let's get a look at that treasure," Penelope smiled as she got down there first followed by me and Neyla.

"What do you see? Is it awesome?!" Murray asked as Ruby came down next.

"There's plenty of treasure, but the foundation is rotted out. Very unstable," Penelope frowned as we got a call from Henriette.

"Hey, mates, Tsao's on his way to the treasure hoard. How're ye comin' along?" Henriette asked.

"We're doing awesome! Stand aside, guys! CANNONBALL!" Murray exclaimed, me gasping as he then slammed down into the rotted out treasury floors and we heard the place beginning to crumble all around us! "Uh-oh..." Murray gulped as we then fell down through the temple and we saw sunlight and snow. And then, something crazy happened. The entire treasury collapsed and fell down into the rivers below! The loot team barely had any time to escape the debris falling on them! We then heard some seething noises and looked up to see someone we didn't expect. General Tsao.

"My family temple... DESTROYED! Never have I experienced such an outrage! You shall pay!" Tsao growled angrily at us.

"Eat it, Tsao! I broke your temple, now I'm going to break your face for messing with the Cooper Gang!" Murray yelled.

"You cannot hurt me," Tsao said, me smirking at Murray.

"Oh yeah? Head's up, guys! Loot drop ahoy!" Murray yelled as he literally punched the treasure chests down to the houses that Bentley, the Guru, and Meg were at!

"THE OUTRAGE!" Tsao exclaimed in fury. "Stone dragon of the temple! I summon you, from rock to flesh, aid the family Tsao in this hour of need!" Tsao yelled as I saw a green light show happening in the river and I gawked at what happened next. A giant dragon appeared from the river and he looked quite deadly! But not quite deadly enough for a certain pirate lass.

"AYAYAYAYAYAAAAHHH!" Henriette exclaimed a battle cry as I saw her jump from her position on top of the temple all the way to the dragon and smacked a large katana right against its neck, all of us gawking in sheer disbelief as my pirate ancestor just did the impossibly awesome. She SLICED OFF THE HEAD OF A GIANT DRAGON! And even Tsao was in utter disbelief.

"I believe we've got another place to be. Bye," I said as I got the others in my team and we rushed out of the area of Tsao, him growling and yelling something in the distance.

"I still win, Cooper! You may have stolen my treasure and thwarted my dragon but I still have the bride! ELLA IS MINE!" Tsao yelled, me smirking as we returned to the van with everyone intact but Carmelita, Ella in the van and looking at me happily.

"Nice moves, Henriette! That was wicked sweet!" I smirked at her widely.

"I didn't think it'd work meself, captain! But it did! Now let's get outta here before the guards ruin our getaway!" Henriette said, the Panda King behind the wheel and punching the van to go off into the distance with its jet function in full throttle over the mountains to the east!

"I can't believe it... to be rescued by such an amazing group as this! You all are, in one word, awesome," Jing smiled at our group.

"Ah, it was nothin'. It wasn't even our plan in the end, though. It was all Ella's," Neyla smiled, Ella smirking at that.

"Whatever do you mean, hon?" Ella smiled.

"You know exactly what we mean, Ella. You're the leader of the group much more than I ever could be," I smiled at her, Ella gasping and actually blushing at that, something that was rare for her to do when it came to surprises.

"It is as Henriette said. You are strong, courageous, humble, forgiving, and intelligent. A worthy leader that has all those qualities is a rare thing to have in any team. I am forever in your debt for rescuing my daughter, Captain Ella," Panda King said, that making Ella blush and smile even more.

"Daaw, c'mon, guys, you're embarrassing me," Ella smiled with a squeal of her own.

"So where to now, Panda King?" Penelope asked.

"We will drop off Jing at her aunt's place. She'll be safe there until the duty is done. So what is this big job you mentioned prior to making our deal?" Panda King asked.

"To go to the Cooper Vault, but it's heavily guarded by a man that shouldn't be there. His name is Doctor M," the Guru said, the Panda King mulling it over before he gawked at something he thought of.

"I know of that name... it is the name of one of your father's gang members," Panda King said, me gasping and looking at him in shock.

"H-How would you know that?" I asked him in shock.

"Unlike the other members of the Fiendish Five, I always studied my foes before making an attack. As such, during the ride to your house all of those years ago, I studied up on Conner Cooper and his alliances and enemies. I found that he had two different accomplices and two adversaries. You already know of Clockwerk, but there is another called the Le Paradox clan. And his allies were McSweeny and Mandrake Malone, also known as Doctor M," Panda King said, me gawking at that and wondering just what the hell would've gotten into Doctor M's head that he'd want to steal my father's entire fortune and, in part, my entire fortune.


	43. Journey to Pirate Town

**Chapter 43**

We happened to not have much to do after the deal with rescuing Jing King had been finished, but I was surprised about a couple things that happened on the way to her aunt's house. First off, the fact that everyone in the gang viewed me as their leader as opposed to Sly. I knew that was a big change, but honestly, I didn't care anymore about that. These guys were my family now and I wouldn't give them up for anything in the world. But the other thing I was confused by is how Panda King knew a lot about Sly's father and that he didn't really share too much other than Doctor M being in Sly's gang and the name of the Le Paradox clan. That just confirmed that the fourth game was going to happen, which I didn't really expect, as it did a lot for the series, but all in the wrong ways.

Yeah, I admit it. I wasn't a fan of Thieves in Time, despite the more updated graphics. The fact that the time travel was poorly handled, the numerous issues with the story, and the fact that every character was turned into a stereotype of who they once were. Oh, and of course, the Penelope betrayal was the worst part of it aside from the cliffhanger ending. I had to make sure that part didn't happen at all, or at the very least, find some way to prevent Penelope from going rogue.

The days rolled by, then they turned into weeks, our gang doing numerous small jobs in the meantime until we would be able to get the call from Dimitri. And then, in 4 months time (long enough for Neyla and my tummies to grow bigger... no way I'd fit through tight spaces now and same with Neyla) we finally got the call from Dimitri. We got on Thief Net and got the message from him that I read aloud.

"Yo, freaky cracker-Jacks and Janes! I've got you all first class tickets to the biggest venture of all time! Get groovy with it to cruise ship to special island town. Blood Bath Bay is the location and we're goin' to get somethin' very special to my greasy sweet self! Get on SS Groo-V this Saturday at 9:00 Am. Dress as listed freaky sweet celebs," Dimitri said in the message, followed by numerous different names of different celebrities, me smirking at how one of them was of Taylor Swift and how she was actually an opossum.

"Did... Did you say... Blood. Bath. BAY?!" Henriette asked in shock, her rushing in and looking at the message Dimitri sent, her tail swishing around like it were on crack before she giddily squealed and cheered wildly. "WHHOOOOOHOOOO! CAPTAIN HENRIETTE SETS SAIL ONCE MORE! POP THE ROOT BEER!" Henriette exclaimed loudly and crazily as she went to the fridge and pulled out the unopened root beer bottle, shook it up, and then had all of it shoot out onto the ground. Some of us smiled at how happy she was to go back home to her pirate heritage while some of us were a bit surprised and a few were annoyed at the fact that she ruined the carpeting and that it'd need cleaned.

"Okay, okay, calm down, Henriette. You'll need to save all that excitement for when we finally get there after all," Sly smiled at her, Henriette not even trying to settle down, her actually bopping her body in a spastic nature even when standing still.

"Okay, mates! Once Saturday hits, we get on that boat and help out this Dimitri fella with whatever he wants while also making everyone remember the name of Captain Henriette 'One Eye' Cooper! Got it?" Henriette smirked happily.

"We wouldn't have it any other way, Henriette," I smiled at her as I felt my baby boys kick in my tummy. They were also happy for Henriette... and yes, it was a duo. I got an ultrasound one month ago and found out it wasn't just a boy, but two! And because of the dominance serum, they'd be fully human like me and my sis! In fact, Meg decided to finally grin and bear it and got some sperm donated to her as well, and from a sperm bank no less. But she also got some dominance serum and injected herself with it so that she'd have kids. And she was now officially pregnant as well, though she did choose a bit late in the game to get started, but I honestly couldn't blame her. She was really hesitant when it came to anything sexual involving anthro animals. But once you live among them long enough, you get used to it.

Once Saturday hit, we all got into very convincing disguises of the celebrities listed and boarded the SS Groo-V, which was actually owned and manned by Dimitri himself. As for who we all disguised ourselves as? Bentley was disguised as Billy Ray Cyrus (to my amusement), Sly as Snoop Dogg, Murray as Gene Simmons, the Panda King as Johnny Depp (again, to my amusement), Ruby as Miranda Cosgrove, Henriette as Paris Hilton, Neyla as Katy Perry, the Guru as 'Wee Man' (from Jackass... again, this was amusing to me), Meg as Angelina Jolie (her needing to dress up as a squirrel to my amusement), Penelope as Victoria Justice (unlike who she was in the game, but it was amusing... again) and me as Taylor Swift, which I loved simply for the fact that I was an opossum!

"Okay, greasy sweet dudes and dudettes," Dimitri said as he appeared to us with a smile and an orange drink. "I'm gonna tell ya what we're going to Blood Bath Bay for, but I'll need one of you to decipher the silky enigma of Dimitri," the guy said.

"Aye! I'd like to give it a shot," Henriette smirked as she approached him first.

"Ah yes, the pirate lass herself. Come over here and read the script," Dimitri said as he gave Henriette a piece of paper that she smiled at, me wondering if it was English or not.

Henriette then began to speak the tale. "The reason Dimitri has sent all of us to Blood Bath Bay is because of the debt he wanted us to repay back in Holland a few months ago. We need to go there in order to learn of a precious item that was lost to a cutthroat from his grandfather, Reme Lousteau, a famous diver that looted sunken ships. The pirate that attacked and stole his loot and diving gear was a pirate named Black Spot Pete. Having lost his possessions, Reme retired and started a family with Dimitri being amazed by the stories his grandpappy would tell. So now that we've proven ourselves to be... greasy sweet... ahem... he wishes for us to help him find Black Spot Pete, get the location of the gear and treasure, and take it back. In return, he'll join us for the Cooper Vault job as our underwater operative," Henriette said, deciphering the script as best she could, me smirking at that.

"Sounds like a tough challenge, but if anyone can do it, it's our ragtag family of misfits," I smiled widely.

"Indeed. When we arrive in the Bay, we need to be careful, however. Back in my days, pirates were ruthless, heartless, and they were not friendly to any outsiders. Even with me bein' a pirate among them, they'll be hesitant to talk to me. An' I doubt that they'd be willin' to believe I was the legendary thief among pirates from the 1600s, so we'll need to be careful in how we go about this, mates," Henriette frowned.

"Understood, we'll be careful to a fault," Meg smiled as my babies kicked in my tummy again.

"Looks like the boys are excited for this grand adventure. How long until we get there, Dimitri?" I smiled at him.

"We'll need to take some life boats to the southern end of the pirate town under the cover of night so they don't notice us coming in, you catch my drift, Unknown Preggers?" Dimitri smirked, me smiling and rubbing my baby bumps.

"I catch your drift, Dimitri. Just be sure not to call me fat or I will punch you like I punched Muggshot. He's not going to be flexing his muscles anytime soon, that much I can tell you," I smiled, Panda King smirking at that.

"I had a feeling that Muggshot would get on your bad side at some point, Ella," Panda King smiled at me.

"He got on my bad side when we were in Holland, trying to recruit Penelope. I wanted to bait him into a fight and then have Inspector Fox arrest him. But when I tried to do so, he said I was a scrawny lady with a gut. Once he got to jail and after the ACES were finished, I went to his cell block, got access to him, and beat the shit out of him for saying that to me," I said angrily.

"Considering that you smacked the big bad owl guy not once, but twice, I get your tale and believe it, greasy-sweet human," Dimitri smiled at me.

"Thanks for the compliment... I guess," I smirked uneasily. It would only be a few hours until the area of Blood Bath Bay would come into view... and we'd have to find some way to prevent Henriette from squealing in joy when we got there.


	44. Jolly Boats of Doom

**Chapter 44**

Upon arrival to Blood Bath Bay, our gang paddled out in a couple life boats to the edge of the waters, us needing to stay quiet and all of us doing so, even Henriette. We finally docked and we found the Safehouse easily, Henriette smirking as she saw the place.

"This... this was me home back in the old days... it's just as I remember it... I've missed this life so much," Henriette gawked as I saw some tears form from her eyes. We then decided that we'd take some time to sleep and then, after our nap was complete, we woke up at dawn the next day to see that the pirates were going about town for their daily routines and that our Safehouse was not on their to-do list.

"Okay, Henriette, let's don pirate disguises and go off to meet up with Black Spot Pete," I said with a smile.

"Aye, captain! Let's do it," Henriette smiled as we then went off to search for the Pete and eventually found him standing on a balcony by the overturned boat, where Henriette smirked at him.

"Heh, he looks like me when I was in me older years. You know, back before Clockwerk got me," Henriette smiled.

"Let's try to talk to him, but I'll need to make a pirate accent," I smiled as we then went to him and Henriette spoke.

"Ahoy, Black Spot Pete! Shavin' the whiskers off that beak o' yours, or would ye rather talk of treasure?" Henriette smiled widely.

Pete looked confused for a bit before he looked at Henriette more closely. "Forgive me old eyes, but would you happen to be a female pirate?" Pete asked with elderly grunts in his voice.

"Aye! I just set up shop 'ere an' heard about that treasure ye stole all them years ago from a diver. Would ya like to talk of it, or should we scallywags earn it?" Henriette smirked widely.

"And who would your accomplice here, be?" Pete asked.

"I be her captain, mate. Captain Ella, though some may call me Ella Unknown for me mysterious factors. I plundered loot from all over the globe with me ragtag crew," I smiled in the most stereotypical pirate accent I could muster.

"Hmm... I believe I have heard of this Ella Unknown before. You say you are a true captain of many plunders? Very well, I shall speak of treasure if ye can beat me in a round of vinegar talk first, you baboon-faced toilet!" Pete said, me looking at him with a smirk.

"Aye, we got a bargain, ye toothless, yellow-bellied cabin boy," I smirked at him.

"Harhar! But methinks yer a... Stupid, maggot-slurpin' piece of filth," Pete said to me.

"Oh yeah? Yer a sheep-brained, parrot-loving whale fart," I smiled back.

"That be true an' all, but yer a... Pin-headed, brainless waste of skin," Pete said, me smirking at that.

"Hehe, how about this? Yer a Seaweed-slurpin', floor-scrubbin', disease-ridden pile of barnacles," I smirked, the old pirate smirking and laughing at that.

"Harhar! Ye be the best swearer I've seen since me ol' mate, Cantankerous Tim! So, what was the treasure you scallywags wished to speak of?" Pete asked, me smiling at that.

"We wish to speak of the haul you took many years ago from that Reme Lousteau fella," I said in my fake accent.

"Ah, that was a fine plunder! A lot of gold came from that as well as laughs with me hearties," Pete smirked.

"Then why not share of the treasure's location? We'd surely love to get our hands on it fer ourselves," Henriette smiled.

"Hmph! It pains me to tell ye this, shipmates, but me galleon was lost in a game of cards... and worse yet, the map to the island was stolen by the amazingly cruel cutthroat Captain LeFwee," Pete said, Henriette gawking at that and saying the word loud enough for everyone in the pirate town to hear.

"WHAT?! A newbie captain such as he is an ol' sack o' potatoes next to me! Before I served under Captain Ella, I was a captain meself! Captain Henriette 'One Eye' Cooper! Head of the Cooper Mistress an' the most famous pirate thief in the 1600's!" Henriette said proudly as she pulled out a sword from her sheathe on her back, me seeing it was the cutlass she stole during our downtime from the China heist.

And when she said that, Pete gawked at her words. "Captain 'One Eye'? Also known as the greatest pirate of all time?! How can ye prove such a tale, lass?" Pete asked in shock.

"I wrote down all of me most famous plunders I'd ever done in me entire life in me family book, mate! An' this LeFwee is just a newbie cutthroat! If he an' I were to do the dance of blades, I would come out on top! No pirate back in my day was even half as good as me an' my crew!" Henriette smiled proudly.

"Well, this LeFwee is no ordinary pirate, no. He's earned the title of Smartest Man on the Seven Seas! The map to the treasure of Dagger Isle lays in his Skull Keep! If ye go after the treasure, shipmates, leave this ol' sea dog behind. Me sailin' days are long behind me," Pete smiled.

"Thanks, Pete. Yer still a flea-bitten, rotten, fish humpin', rusty ol' scallywag, though," Henriette smiled.

"Aye!" Pete smirked, me and Henriette then going back to the Safehouse to tell the others of what happened.

"Okay, so as Henriette and Ella have stated, we now know the location of the treasure map and the buried treasure. The map is in Skull Keep, guarded by a man named Captain LeFwee and the treasure is buried in Dagger Isle, a secluded island many leagues from our position. In order for us to get to the stuff, we'll need to do some deviousness," Bentley said. "First, we'll need Murray, Henriette, Ruby, and Ella to go out and take out the rudders of any ships that may try to chase us out into the waters when we need to. You should also take out the harbor patrol in the meantime. Meanwhile, Meg, Penelope and I will try to go after the map to Dagger Isle from the Skull Keep. Once these tasks are done, we'll need to set out at dusk to steal a boat and get to the island. Then, it's only a matter of following the map and digging up the loot."

"Understood. Let's go, team," I smiled as we proceeded to go and do our business, me joining Murray, Henriette, and Ruby in a duo of jolly boats to go after the rudders of the different ships... and guess what ship happened to be a perfect candidate for us to steal?

"Oh my sweet sassafras an' shrimp tails! That's the Cooper Mistress! She's still around after all these years! Oh how I've missed 'er! We need to get that boat as our choice of transport, mates!" Henriette said with eagerness.

"Aye, aye, Henriette. But first, time to take out the rudders of the different ships," I smiled at her as we proceeded to our boats and I was teamed with her while Murray teamed with Ruby. We then proceeded to take out the rudders of at least 5 ships before we got some turbulence with the Harbor Patrol.

"Those boats of theirs look well-armored. How do we get rid of it?" Ruby asked.

"Simple. Ram the bastards! That'll get the armor knocked off for a well-placed cannonball!" Henriette smirked, me complying as I got to rowing out to the first boat I saw, slamming our boat into his and the armor knocking clean off! Henriette then blasted him and sunk him before he even knew what hit him!

"Oh yeah!" Murray exclaimed out loud after he and Ruby sunk another one, me smiling at that.

"Four left! Let's tag team 'em!" I smirked, me rowing into one of them and Ruby blowing up the boat afterwards. We did this for the remaining three boats until all of them were destroyed.

"Oh yeah! The Awesome Team of Captains Ella and Murray and their faithful mateys kick but yet again!" Henriette smirked widely as we then got some feedback from Neyla, her pointing us out a bit at sea and looking at the sailing ship.

"Uh, guys. You aren't done yet. That's the harbor patrol's cutter... the mast looks pretty beat up. Maybe if you take it out, the whole ship will come crashing down!" Neyla said, Henriette smiling at that.

"Time to set sail again, captain!" Henriette smirked, me rowing out to the ship with Murray following suit, our duo beginning to send cannonballs at the mast while we avoided its cannonballs. After roughly 7 of our shots connected to the mast, the entire ship then began to slowly fall apart and sink into the waters.

"OH YEAH! The Murray and Ella Unknown have broken you! We have triumphed once again!" Murray smiled.

"Oh hell yeah!" Ruby smiled widely.

"When you guys are done making out, head back to the Safehouse. Sheesh," Neyla smirked, me giggling at that. We then were about to go back to the Safehouse, but came across something that made me worried. A grapple cam with some turrets on it was making bird noises and I saw Penelope being led towards it with Meg holding onto her.

"Guys? What happened?" I asked them while the Murray and Ruby went back to the Safehouse, not seeing the grapple cam at all.

"Penelope got blinded by some kind of trap from the chest holding the map. We need to get her back to the Safehouse to get the dust out of her eyes," Meg said.

"Ella? Is that you? Please help, I'm kinda scared," Penelope said with fear in her voice.

"Don't worry, mates, we'll help ye out back to the Safehouse," Henriette said as we helped out the duo all the way back to the Safehouse, making sure that any pirates that got in our way were promptly taken care of and knocked unconscious. And once we finally got back to the Safehouse, Bentley looked at Penelope happily.

"Penelope!" Bentley said with a smile.

"Bentley! I'm so relieved... I was really scared back there. You guys saved my life," Penelope smiled at us.

"Let's get your eyeballs cleaned out, okay, Penny?" I smiled at her as I led her to the sink and she took off her glasses before splashing fresh water on her eyes, her wincing at it as I saw little dust particles fall out of her eyes and into the drain.

"Ugh, hate it when this happens... I always hated eye drops or anything related to contacts," Penelope said as she blinked a few times before then putting her glasses on. "Okay, I'm good now," Penelope smiled.

"Well, we have a good bit until dusk happens, so how about we take a breather for a bit?" Bentley smiled at Penelope, her smiling at that.

"I have something better in mind, Bentley," she smiled as she then wheeled Bentley over to one of the different bedrooms and, upon entering it, locked the door, me smirking at that.

"I think I know where this is going," I smiled at that.

"Not even gonna bother asking them when it's over, huh?" Guru smirked.

"They were made for each other," Meg smirked.

"Yes, they are," I giggled at that.


	45. Treasure Hunting 101, Never Turn Ye Back

**Chapter 45**

Once it reached only a few minutes to dusk, Sly, myself, Neyla, and Henriette all went out of the Safehouse and quietly made our way to the top of a nearby crow's nest with multiple ropes attached to it to see that the Cooper Mistress was guarded by three different pirates.

"Okay, you guys. The Night Watch is guarding the Cooper Mistress. If we're going to get out to Dagger Isle, we'll need to get that ship in our possession and then get everyone on board. Then, we'll need to sail it out to sea before the pirates in Skull Keep alert the other pirates," Bentley said.

"This is my dream come true! I've always wanted to steal a pirate ship!" Sly smirked widely.

"Not just any ship, Sly. That's a ship that was used by me, yer ancestor, and therefore, belongs to you and me," Henriette smiled widely.

"You'll need to be careful when you commandeer that ship, however. If you alert the Night Watch, then the whole town will light up with cannon fire! You'll need to board that ship and keep absolutely quiet when taking out the pirates on board. Then, let us know and we'll proceed to the ship in the van with its new invisibility cloak," Bentley said, me looking at him skeptically.

"How does it have an invisibility cloak again?" I asked him.

"Penelope installed it during our 3 month break from China," Meg explained.

"Ah. Well that makes things easier," I smirked.

"Remember, keep it quiet and don't alert the Night Watch. Once you're all clear, give us the go-ahead and we'll get on the ship. Then, it's just a matter of sailing out before anyone can get wise as to our plan," Bentley said with a smile.

"Okay," I said with a smile as we then proceeded to go to the jolly boats and I rowed myself and Neyla while Henriette rowed for Sly. We then got to the ship and we carefully climbed on board while the guards weren't looking. And then, I smiled at Sly and Henriette and we knew what to do. All of us at the same time used Time Stopper and proceeded to knock the skulls of all the pirates on board and then warping them to a place I'd know they'd hate with a warp hole.

"Where'd you send them to?" Neyla smiled at me.

"To a luxury spa in California. They need a good bath," I smiled widely.

"Oh that is just so evil! I like that," Henriette smiled at me. I then gave the signal to the gang and they all joined the ship via getting the van into a small opening on the side of the ship for them to drive it into. Once inside, I then looked at Henriette with a smile.

"Okay, Henriette. This is your ship, so go ahead and give the orders," I smiled at her, Henriette smiling and nodding.

"Aye! Okay, mates, time to get busy. Sly and Neyla, raise the masts! Panda King and Murray, hoist the anchor! Everyone below deck, get to the cannons and await further instruction! And Ella, you get to the helm! You're in charge of steering me pride an' joy! An' I don't give that honor to just anyone," Henriette smirked at me as I saw Sly and Neyla raise the sails and I then felt the boat start to go off with the winds, me getting to the steering wheel and seeing a small lever. I activated it and smirked at how there was a little propulsion system by the rear of the ship that made the ship both steer and move forward at the same time! I then set sail for the mouth of the bay and, just as the alarms were raised, we were already onto the open ocean, our group going forward and Henriette standing next to me as I heard the sounds of the seas and the seagulls above.

"Okay, captain, this map is not only of Dagger Isle, but also of the immediate vicinity. So, time to go to the northeast to the island in question," Henriette smiled at me.

"Aye, aye," I smiled happily as I steered the ship to go in the direction I desired. But when we got to the island, I was surprised at the lack of a pirate battle. We then got to the island and I steadily brought her to shore and easily parked it.

"Wow, that's a pretty good first landing, mate! You may just be a worthy pirate captain after all," Henriette smiled at me.

"Thanks, Henriette," I smirked as we let out the plank and started to walk to shore, Sly, Henriette, and I getting the map in hand and reading the first clue.

"Okay, it says... Stand before the statue's gaze to begin the walk along the treasure's maze," I smiled, our group proceeding to find a statue, but finding that we weren't the only ones on the island.

"Dammit! That's the ship that I saw leaving the Skull Keep during our wait for sunset! That LeFwee must've known we'd come here after stealing that map and he probably wants to get the drop on us! Well, nuts to that I say!" Henriette snorted as we found the statue and I then looked at the next clue.

"Take ye twelve steps in the direction of the statue's gaze," I read aloud as I then walked in that direction for twelve steps before reading the next clue. "X always marks the spot, shipmate... find the x and take ye 6 paces towards it... too easy, it's right there," I smiled at the x made by the trees nearby. I then walked in that direction and then read the next clue. "Move ye 18 paces into the circle of palm trees... okay, this is getting into kindergarten levels of easy," I smiled widely as I then walked towards the circle of numerous trees while Henriette and Sly kept a watch out for the sea dogs. Once I finished walking towards the trees, I then read the next clue. "Take 16 paces to pass between two great stones. Like a ship at sea, avoid the rocks," I read as I proceeded to walk 16 steps in that direction and then Sly smiled at me.

"Looks like this map was designed to be easy to follow," Sly smiled as I then read the next clue.

"Look out to sea to spot a rock with three palm trees on it. Take 13 paces in its direction and get your feet sandy. Well, if you say so, piece of paper," I smiled as I then made the paces into the sand and I smiled at the feeling of the sand under my shoes until I got 13 paces under my belt. "Not all ships meet a great end, but follow where they point is what ye must do for 6 paces," the map said, me then going in that direction and then seeing that it was in the center of the O in an SOS sign made with seashells!

"Okay, guys! This is the spot! Everyone come here and we'll dig up the loot!" I smiled.

"Alright! Let's go!" Murray exclaimed happily as we all started to dig into the sand with our hands and some of us with tools until we finally got to the clunk of a chest, us then lifting it from the ground and me looking at Ruby and Henriette with seriousness.

"You two watch our flanks and make sure we don't get any unwanted attention," I said to them.

"Aye aye, captain," Henriette smirked as we then looked at Dimitri with a smile.

"It's your loot, Dimitri. I figure you should do the honors of opening it," I smiled at him.

"Oh, greasy sweet! You Coopers are a tight knit group! I feel the disco in my heart opening you with welcome arms!" Dimitri smiled, me smirking at his usual wackiness as he opened the chest and gawked.

"It's grandpappy's gear! And the color even matches my greasy sweet suit! Now I can swim, dive, and accessorize!' Dimitri smiled as I then got a tap on my shoulder from Henriette.

"Trouble ahoy, captain. An' it's a tiny parrot and a gaggle of mutts," Henriette said.

"Ruby, you know the drill," I said as Sly then got the rest of the loot out and Dimitri smirked at it as I saw that Ruby managed to get most of the dogs to go to bed with her ecstasy, but there were a few that she couldn't, including LeFwee himself!

"Dammit, those guys have copper in their hats!" Ruby frowned, me remembering what she said once. Her powers were useless against copper. That meant we had to deal with 5 of LeFwee's men and LeFwee himself.

"Well, well, well, it looks like we've got some thieves takin' what rightfully belongs to me... and who be this darlin' flower's name?" LeFwee smirked widely as he put a cutlass to Penelope's back, her gasping and immediately becoming frightened.

"You best get your mitts off of Penelope, pal. In case you haven't noticed, you're outnumbered," I frowned at him.

"So, Penelope be the young lass's name? Such a sweet scent that comes from her hair. And what do ye mean when ye say I be outnumbered? Look around you, you're contending with... oooh..." LeFwee gawked as we turned him around with a simple motion of fingers and he saw all of his shipmates minus the few were having a touching and hugging party behind him.

"Like we said. You, my good sir, are outnumbered. Now let your cutlass off of Penelope. She already has a boyfriend and he's currently the smartest on the Seven Seas, not you," I said, LeFwee looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"And who, pray tell, dares to boldly claim they be the smartest man on the Seven Seas?" LeFwee asked.

"That would be me, pal," Bentley said as he took out his grapple cam and LeFwee looked at it in confusion before the turret then shot out the cutlass from his hand while also eliminating the dogs in the process with the other turret fire! Now only LeFwee was left and he was completely unarmed before us as I saw that Penelope was on the ground front-first and her back was starting to bleed a bit. No doubt from the sword that LeFwee poked her with. He wasn't doing it gently, that much was certain.

"Well, would little Polly want a bone-cracker crush? Or would he rather give up and run back to his mommy?" I smiled at him in a mocking manner, LeFwee growling at me angrily at that as he then tried to pull out a knife from his pocket, me slowing down time and rushing him, tackling him to the ground and removing the knife from his person before throwing it to the sea. "One last chance, asshole. Leave now, or you're contending with some very angry thieves and three pirates of amazing talent," I frowned at him, LeFwee frowning at me angrily.

"RRGH! Fine! Go about yer business, ye swabs! I will find you all again and I will kill you all faster than ye can blink!" LeFwee growled angrily. But then Bentley did something I didn't expect. He shot LeFwee with a sleep dart, the pirate gasping at the sudden attack before he started to see stars. "OOogh... I see... pixies... everywhere... oofah..." he puffed out before he fell asleep in an instant, Bentley helping Penelope off the ground, but me seeing that she was hurting too.

"Ow... that hurts... he poked me too hard... ow..." Penelope groaned in pain as I lifted up the back of her shirt and saw that the puncture was a good bit deep inside of her. Not an easy fix. And this made Bentley really mad. He then activated his own size destabilizer and hit LeFwee with it, him then giving the pirate to me with a frown on his face.

"Do whatever you want to him. Just make sure it's nasty," Bentley said to me, me then looking at the shrunken LeFwee with a wicked smile as he woke up and gasped at how tiny he was.

"ACK! What have you done to me?!" LeFwee asked, his voice sounding very high pitched at his tiny size.

"You're going to pay dearly for hurting our friend, LeFwee... I do wonder... what would fried parrot taste like?" I asked, the others looking at me in either confusion or shock, but me not caring. I simply carried LeFwee over to the area with the crocodiles and I held him up as a treat. "Hey! Stupid crocs! I got a treat for whoever wants it!" I said with a smile as I dangled LeFwee from my hand, one of the crocs approaching me with a smile on his face.

"NO! Please don't do this! Noooo!" LeFwee yelled in fear as I threw him into the maw of the crocodile and he was promptly taken care of in the most horrible way I could think of.

"Whoa... that was freaking hardcore, Ella... I didn't know you could get that dark," Sly gawked at me.

"Considering the fact that Penelope is very badly hurt and he didn't give a damn about anything that happened to her after the fact, I'd say he rightfully deserved that," I frowned angrily as I then looked at Dimitri with a smile. "Okay, Dimitri. You said you wanted to be our diving member, right?" I asked him.

"Solid, lady! Just promise me that I don't end up meeting a fate as grizzly as that and we're cool," Dimitri smiled. I didn't want to tell him about the fight he may have with Doctor M's giant tentacled angler fish, mainly because I planned on us having both canes when we saved Sly. Mainly because I'd be hiring a certain fox to help us during the job as well.

"No worries, Dimitri. Besides, only thing that you may have to worry about are sharks, and with that harpoon gun, I don't think they'll get close enough for a snack," I smiled at him. "Now let's get this boat sailing to a doctor's office because we need to help out Penelope and we need to do it now," I said, me about to do that before Bentley got a bright idea.

"Aha! I've got it!" Bentley said as he pulled out a strange machine that Meg gawked at.

"Is that... the Health Extractor?!" Meg gawked.

"Yeah! We just need to aim one end of it at one of those pirates," Bentley said as he aimed it at the pile of ecstasy pirates. "And then aim the receiving end at Penelope... push the button and..." Bentley said as he did so and a vacuum of strange lights emitted from it and actually made one of the pirates fall asleep from exhaustion and then the life energy flowed via a special pink laser directly at Penelope's back! And when it finished, I saw all the puncture close up into nothing more than a tiny scar.

"Oh my god... you did it, Bentley! You saved her!" Ruby smirked widely as Penelope started to stir.

"Oogh... what happened?" Penelope asked.

"I'll tell you what happened, Penelope. Your boyfriend just saved you from death by sword and blood loss. And as for the creepy LeFwee? He's been reduced and made lunch for one of those crocs," I said, Penelope smiling at me as she then looked at Bentley.

"Bentley... not once you saved me, but twice... I love you so much..." Penelope smiled before she fell asleep again, me then looking at our group with a smile.

"Alright, team. We've got all of our stuff together and I'd say now is the perfect time to go for an assault on the Cooper Vault. Who's with me?" I asked.

"All for one!" all of us said at the same time as we put every one of our hands together for a team handshake (with Penelope needing her hand placed there by Meg). "AND ONE FOR ALL!" It was official. We were soon going to be embarking on the finale. And I knew that I needed to prevent a lot of things to make the operation run as smoothly as possible... and step one, the moment we got on the ship?

I simply dialed the number she gave us in China and I got her on the line.

"Hello, this is Officer Carmelita, who am I speaking with?" Carmelita asked professionally.

"Hey, Carmelita. It's Ella," I smiled at her.

"Ella? What are you calling me for?" Carmelita asked.

"We need help again, like with Clockwerk, but on a much more devious and insane man named Doctor M. Also known as Mandrake Malone. Guilty of illegal experimentation, extortion, a murder rep of a giant amount, and trying to steal the Cooper clan's greatest fortune ever, the contents of the Cooper Vault," I said, Carmelita listening intently at this.

"And where is he right now?" Carmelita asked.

"He's on Kaine Island, which is surrounded by security tighter than Fort Knox and surrounded by metal attractors in the waters that attract and destroy any metal ships that come in to dock. We'll need your help in this heist and we're technically not stealing anything. Everything in that vault rightfully belongs to Sly, as it is owned by the Cooper family," I said, Carmelita agreeing and simply asking for the coordinates afterwards. "2, 55, 0 South, 137, 02,16 West. Bring your mercenaries with you. This guy is not to be taken lightly," I said with seriousness to her.

"Understood. What time?" Carmelita asked.

"Let's make the time 11 PM at night. Tonight. I know it sounds a bit late in the day, but that's when we can most likely proceed with our attack to the vault," I said with seriousness.

"Got it. I'll proceed to that location immediately, then," Carmelita said. I smirked and nodded at her, our groups then setting sail for Kaine Island. We were soon to be going on our grandest adventure ever. And we only had 5 hours to prepare.


	46. First Mission of Game 3 Gets Wild

**Chapter 46**

Upon arrival to Kaine Island, Sly, myself, and Neyla all proceeded to the main original area of the first mission of the game, where we'd go to the main area of the island.

"Okay, guys, this is it, the main event! For the rest of the operation, Sly, Ella, and Neyla are the Ball, the Paddle, and the String," Bentley said, me smirking at that.

"Alright, that sounds okay, I guess," I said, trying to make Neyla feel better about her being called the String.

"Let's do a quick roll call first," Sly said.

"Right, Artillery, sure you can make that shot?" Bentley asked Panda King.

"I endeavor not to miss," Panda King said.  
"Great, aerial support?"  
"In position," Penelope smiled.  
"Recovery team?"  
"I'm pumped!" Murray smirked.  
"Submersibles?"  
"Showtime, baby!" Dimitri smirked.  
"Telekinetics?"  
"Indeed," Ruby said.  
"Ready to go," Guru said.  
"Computer tech?"  
"Affirmative," Meg smiled.  
"Getaway boater?"  
"Aye!" Henriette smirked.

"Alright, it's the crime of the century and the Paddle, ball, and string are in motion!" Bentley smirked, our group proceeding forward across the ropes and on our way to the area with the guards looking over the edge. "The trio has stopped moving, requesting a yank 86!" Bentley said.

"I got a visual," Penelope said as I saw the helicopter appear and start to yank away the elephant hybrids. "First is away! Second guy is pulled! Third one's down. Move on, paddle ball string, over," Penelope smiled, us then moving forward and seeing the next obstruction.

"Agent Old Rock, prep for tipper," Bentley said.

"Tipping now," Guru said as I saw the Dreamtime energy let loose on the antenna and it soon fell to make a bridge for us.

"Let 'em rip Old Rock," Bentley smirked as we then moved forward some more until we got to the giant barricade.

"Obstruction in sight. Requesting removal via Agent Monarch, over," I smiled.

"Launching, stand clear," Panda King said as I saw the firework come from the distance and obliterate the obstruction for us to enter.

"All eyes, the paddle, ball, and string are nearing the lab. Agent Deep Six, you ready?" Meg smiled for a change.

"Speargun loaded," Dimitri said as we then got down there and saw tons of security.

"Agent Deep Six, deploy!" Bentley smiled, Dimitri then blasting the areas for both laser fences while also making the water start to flow within. "Strong work, Deep Six," Bentley said.

"Anytime," Dimitri smiled. I then looked below us and turned invisible, prompting the other two to do so as well. It was Doctor M.

"How's your wife doing, Richards?" I heard Doctor M ask his worker as they came to our position on the elevator.

"Oh, she's doing very well, thank you for asking Doctor M, very thoughtful!" Richards said as I tried to think of some way to prevent an innocent man from death today.

They then boarded the elevator and it started going up.

"Shame you won't be seeing them again," M frowned.

"Uh... sir?" Richard asked. I then talked to Ruby in my mind.

'Ruby, I need your help saving someone... next to me,' I thought to her, Ruby then having her influence near Richards and me hearing her gasp in my head.

'Got it, I'll try to save him,' Ruby said at that as M then started to talk more while Neyla got out one of her many recorders.

"Afraid I've poisoned your drink and lunch. Sorry Richards, but I don't tolerate poor performance. You should have changed the security code from 123 after you installed the new system!" M growled, Neyla gawking at that while I felt Ruby' influence leave. He was safe.

"I'll improve, I swear!" Richards said, me then smirking as M waited for him to die and nothing happened.

"Wait... something's fishy here. The poison should've killed you by now," M frowned, him about to say something else before he got a call. "Yes? Water leaking into the lab?! I'm on my way down," M frowned as he then kicked Richards off the elevator and his elevator went back down, us getting off and letting invisibility go.

"Huh? Intruders?" Richards asked when he saw us.

"More like the people that just saved your life from a poisonous demise. By the way, you're welcome," I said, Richards gawking at that.

"You mean that strange tingling in my neck was you?" he asked.

"It was our mystic member that rescued you. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a vault to open that doesn't belong to that murderer," I said, us then moving across the tightropes and Richards staying in place, but only then deciding to fly off with his wings after we had made it to the vault's security area with our invisibility intact, me then entering the code and smirking as the drills and lasers disarmed and all moved away from the vault.

"Okay, here it is, Sly. The moment of truth," Neyla smiled.

"Okay, let's do it," Sly smiled as he put the cane inside of the lock and it then, just as the vault was about to open completely, an electrical shot emerged from Doctor M as he appeared from above us!

"Cooper?! No... You must be Sly Cooper, the new keeper of the cane! Hoho, how I've longed for this!" Doctor M smiled wickedly.

"Peh, you think that the COOPER Vault is supposed to be opened by a man named Mandrake Malone? The same Mandrake Malone that just tried to poison one of his workers? Gee, I wonder why he didn't die," I frowned as Neyla then showed the tape and then hid it in her purse, me smirking at her.

"You really think that you'll escape with that evidence intact? Hah!" Doctor M growled angrily as Sly then spoke it for all of us.

"You're trespassing on my family's sacred ground!" Sly exclaimed.

"No, my naive boy and girls, YOU'RE trespassing! I've got the deed to this island. This fortress is mine, the vault is mine, EVERYTHING here is MINE! Which now includes the key to the vault. Hand over the cane," Doctor M frowned, me looking at him with a frown as Bentley appeared from behind.

"Sorry, pal, only those of Cooper bloodlines can open this vault. And last I checked, you ain't no raccoonus doodus," I frowned at him as Bentley then connected an explosive dart at Doctor M and he was thrown off course a bit.

"Quick! Let's regroup with the others! Fall back to the ship!" Bentley exclaimed, us then rushing after him and dodging Doctor M's fire in the process as we got to the flooded lab and proceeded to go through the tunnel back outside. "Almost home free!" Bentley said as he jumped the gap and bombed the pillar, it falling afterwards. "The boat's just up ahead!" Bentley exclaimed as I saw it appear. The giant reptile monster. It roared loudly as it jumped down to block the only path out to the boat. And it then grabbed the screaming Bentley.

"There's no escape, Cooper!" Doctor M exclaimed, me growling at him as Sly then attacked him and got knocked back by a big swipe attack, me frowning at him.

"Okay, big guy! You want to play that game? Then let's play dirty! EAT THIS!" I exclaimed as I jumped up to the giant lizard's head and intentionally got myself in his mouth, me then doing something eventful. "BANANA... SLAMMAH!" I exclaimed as I punched the monster right in the bottom jaw, my punch having just the effect I desired. The monster's lower jaw now hung wide open, me escaping from it and then jumping to the top of the monster as Bentley got freed. "Hey! Up here, asshole!" I exclaimed, the monster then trying to slash me with his claws, but me using slow time and then taking the hand and, with my added strength from the powers of Slaigh MacCooper, I sent the giant, monstrous claws directly through the skull of the giant monster, me jumping to safety just as it died right then and there.

"Huh? Get up, you moron! Right now!" Doctor M exclaimed, not getting the memo that I'd just killed the monster.

"He's just meat right now, monster mandrill," I frowned at him as I looked him in the face, him growling at me as he detached himself from the monster.

"Who are you and what are you to have that kind of speed, skill, and strength to topple one of my best creations?" Doctor M growled at me as he noted that I was 7 months pregnant.

"Name's Ella Farthington, though I'm known worldwide as Ella Unknown. One of only two humans in this entire world and the best damn leader of the Cooper gang you've ever seen," I frowned at him, the mandrill raising his eyebrow at that.

"What do you mean, bitch? You claim to be the leader of the Cooper gang when Conner's boy is right behind you?" Doctor M asked.

"Everyone in my gang has unanimously decided that I am the leader of the gang since one of our more recent heists in China. So I suggest you stay away from us. You don't deserve anything in that vault! And by the name of Captain Ella Unknown of the Cooper Mistress, I say you are no longer welcome on this sacred island," I growled at him.

"Hmph! Keep your touchy-feely rhetoric to yourself! I can't stomach it! You should be the one to leave. Or I could just kill you right where you stand," M frowned as I then looked at my allies and I then noticed Carmelita appear from a wooden police boat with her ape militants.

"Fine. You and me, one-on-one. If I beat you, you steer clear of our business on this island. If you win, though, you go about your own devices," I frowned at him.

"Heh, fine. You lot, back to where you squirmed here from. It's time I took out this bitch and steal the cane of Winnie Cooper. It'll be just as good," Doctor M frowned, me then seeing the others head back to the ship and me looking at M with a frown.

"One. Two. Brawl!" I exclaimed as he tried to rush me and I activated slow time and feinted him out, making him trip over the cane I held in hand and him gawking at that.

"Hmph! You aren't the only ones to have read that book, bitch!" Doctor M said, me frowning at that as he then tried to use slow time and I used it at the same time, us moving at the exact same speeds as each other now and me connecting my hands to his and doing a power struggle with him.

"RGH... You're tougher than ya look, old man!" I growled at him as we were actually evenly matched in terms of strength.

"And you're tougher than you look, tubby! But I am the superior opponent!" M said... and when he said that one word, I felt my brain snap just like I felt it snap with Muggshot.

"WHAT. DID. YOU. JUST. CALL. MY. BABY?!" I growled at him angrily as I felt the effects of the rage hypnosis kick in as a flash of lightning occurred. I used that moment to nut shot M, causing him to gasp in shock and stop using slow time, giving me plenty of time to use my own skill to finish him off.

"BANANA... SLAMMAH!" I exclaimed as I punched him directly in the mouth with a full powered Bone Cracker Crush attack! And when it connected, Doctor M flew across the place and I actually saw him slam directly into the pillar of a watch tower! But get this, he was still kicking! He immediately jumped from that position all the way to me and me smirking at how I dislodged his teeth. "Hot dayum, bitch! You must be Superman to have walked that attack off!" I exclaimed at him.

"Who?" M asked.

"He's a superhero in a comic book series," I said with a frown.

"I don't dillydally with stupid picture books," M growled. But I looked to the ground where I hit M at and I saw something. A book.

"Oh really? Then I guess that this isn't a picture book?" I smirked as I got the book and M gasped at that and I simply pocketed it in my purse. "Now I suggest you steer clear of us. Any way you look at it, there's no possible way you can match the attack I gave you, asshole. And if you EVER. EEEVVVEEERRR! Call me fat again, you are not going to survive," I growled at him angrily. And just as I was about to turn around? Guess what he did.

"Hmph, fatass bitch!" M said, me stopping in place and growling angrily.

"I warned you... I fucking warned you... now you fucking pay," I said angrily as I used Time Stopper to freeze him in place, attacking him with at least fifteen attacks from whacks of the cane and at least twenty slashes with the hook of the cane! And the moment Time Stopper ended, Doctor M shrieked in horrible agony at what I'd done to him. His right arm was broken, his left and right legs were covered in blood, and his eye was bleeding from a slash I made there. "You mess with a mother, you get the worst," I growled at him as I spat directly into his other eye and then picked up his bruised, bloodied body and threw him the entire way over to Carmelita's ship in one throw! And when Mandrake Malone fell to Carmelita's ship, I smiled as I got a call from her.

"Yes, who is it?" I asked.

"Who is this, Ella? And why is he bloodied up?" Carmelita asked.

"Mandrake Malone, AKA, Doctor M. We have evidence that he tried to poison one of his workers to kill him and he also called me fat not once, but twice! So I suggest you talk to Neyla to get the evidence of attempted murder and then take him to the nearest hospital," I said to her, Carmelita then talking again.

"Isn't this a little too far, even for you?" Carmelita asked. I then looked at the very first page of the book that I got and I gasped as I saw something in there that I didn't ever expect. It was something that completely showed how twisted Doctor M was!

"You actually have a second piece of evidence, Carmelita. Page one of this book that Doctor M just dropped has detailed plans on the attack on the Cooper house roughly 20 years ago! And I'm sure you know of what attack it was, right?" I asked, me getting feedback from nearly everyone when I said that, including Sly, Carmelita, Henriette, Ruby, Meg, and Bentley! And they're unanimous exclamation?

"WHAT?!" they all yelled at the same time, the alarms being blared all over the island after that and me then looking at Carmelita's boat and jumped to it, handing her the book with a smile.

"This should be all the evidence you need," I said as I then called Neyla. "Neyla, send that recorder to my current position," I said to her, Neyla doing so without saying a word, me then getting the stuff and handing it to Carmelita as the apes simply looked at me in confusion. "That should do it. Now I'm going to help my friends get their island back," I said as I was about to jump away, but Carmelita held onto me before I could.

"Listen, Ella... I don't know what to think of the way you work... nor do I know if I can live with how I feel for Sly Cooper... so tell me this. What should I do? I want to ask you... what do you think is the best option I can do?" Carmelita asked, me being a bit surprised at that, but smiling as I knew I may be able to use this for the final game's setup... if it happened.

"Honestly, Carmelita? I think you should just bite the bullet and tell Sly how you really feel. Tell him what you want to tell him from within your heart. I'm sure he feels the same about you," I smiled at her. "And who cares if you have feelings for a thief. Some of the best police work comes when someone can work for both sides to reach a common goal. Just think of all the people you arrested thanks to the Cooper Gang. Assholes and killers the world over!" Carmelita smiled and nodded at that.

"Thanks, Ella... you know just what to say," Carmelita smiled as I then jumped away from her and joined back up with the others on the ship despite the place being lit up with alarms.

"Okay, that fight you had with Doctor M, captain? It was the best fight me eyes have ever seen!" Henriette smirked at me.

"Thanks, Henriette. Now it's time to take out all the security on this island. We'll start with those radio towers. We need to find some way to get them offline so that we can attack those radar towers. Any ideas?" I smiled at the resident tech geniuses, Bentley thinking about it before having a eureka moment.

"Aha! Penelope, have you finished the new weapon to your RC car we talked about?" Bentley asked Penelope.

"Yeah... Oooooh, I see now! Smash the drones, siphon their power and destroy the towers' matrix!" Penelope said with excitement.

"Sounds like fun! Bring on the demo," Murray smiled as Penelope looked at Panda King.

"Hey, Panda King? Think you can use your fireworks to launch my RC car to that pipe over there?" Penelope asked.

"Of course! With the power of the fireworks, it will soar like the bird!" Panda King said happily as he got the car and put a duo of fireworks on its back. "Fly, bird, FLY!" Panda King said as I got to see it from Penelope's computer that she pulled up.

"Let's get wild," I smiled at her.


	47. The Gauntlet of Master Thieves

**Chapter 47**

After Penelope handled the radio towers, then it was up to me and Sly in our planes to take out the different missile launchers. And when all of them were destroyed, we then landed our planes at the area with the elevator and we then went up to the vault, me deciding that I'd do the honors this time with my cane, it entering the slot and the lock opening to reveal the elevator that would lead to the inside of the island.

"Hey, Bentley?" Sly asked into his binocucom.

"Yeah?" I heard Bentley say with a smile.

"I'm about to head into the vault, but I don't want you, Murray, or Henriette to miss out. We're a family, so let's go in there together," Sly said.

"Thanks, bud. We're coming up right now," Bentley said as Murray then drove the van to a different point and the Panda King put fireworks on the tires, me seeing it from a distance with my Binocucom.

"Oh yeah! The Panda King's going to use his fireworks on the van to launch us up there! Hang tight, Bentley and girls, we're about to get awesome!" Murray said, me wondering about the plural of girls. "YAAAHHOOOO!" Murray yelled as Sly and I got out of the way and the van landed onto our platform with a clang after doing 2 flips!

"I am NEVER doing that again!" I heard Carmelita say from inside the van, me surprised at that as was Sly, but we didn't say anything until we got into the elevator and got down to the lower levels of the island. And when we did, Henriette breathed in deeply and exhaled afterwards.

"Ah, the sweet smell of the Cooper Vault... this place is home to the fortunes of all past Coopers. The wealth in this area is virtually untold. It's priceless," Henriette smiled widely.

"It's gotta be at least a hundred years old!" Murray gawked.

"More like over 12 thousand years old. This place was first started by Slytunkhamen II from Ancient Egypt, back in 10 thousand BC," Henriette smiled.

"Okay, time to ask some very important questions," I frowned at everyone. "First off, how did the Cooper Vault respond to me and say I was a Cooper? Because it unlocked from my cane being used in it and from my DNA... And second, when did you decide to come into the vault with us, Carmelita?" I asked her with a smile.

"To answer the first question, mate, it may be because ye have Sly's kids in yer belly. It must've responded to the next Cooper kids," Henriette smiled, me only then gawking at that. She was right!

"And to answer the second question, Ella, I wanted to join you for two reasons. One, I wanted to see what the big deal is for this vault and why Doctor M would want to get at its contents so badly. Depending on the wealth within, I may hold him for the rest of his life or just until he's too old to move," Carmelita frowned. "And the other reason... I wanted to tell Sly something... as well as you, Ella," Carmelita said, me smiling at that.

"Alright then. Murray and Bentley? It looks like there isn't going to be any way for you to join us across this rope, so I think we should get Ruby up here to use her levitation powers," I said with a smile, Bentley smirking at that.

"Thanks, Ella," Bentley smiled as I got in my mind and spoke to Ruby.

"I heard ya, I'm coming up there," Ruby smiled as we waited for about a minute until Ruby came down the elevator with her powers.

"Let's go in there, now. Time for us to see just how wealthy we're about to become," I smiled as we went into the vault and, upon entry, we saw the first bit already in front of us. Slytunkhamen II, but also with a second picture for Slytunkhamen III!

"This vault was started by Slytunkhamen II. The year he made his contributions... 10,430 BC!" Sly gawked.

"So what did you want to talk about, Carma?" I smiled at her, the foxy Interpol officer swishing her tail at the nickname.

"Well... it's something that's been on my mind since that incident in the Outback. After I learned that you guys were the ones who saved me from that horrible mask... I started to have those nightmares again. And when I saw them, I was very scared. It was nothing but trauma of seeing Sly and Ella getting killed numerous times while I was completely helpless. One of them even had me killing both of you against my will... it's been on my mind ever since then and I didn't want to accept it... but I have to. I'm in love with both you and Sly," Carmelita said, me stopping in place just as we reached the next section, that being a combination of Sir Galleth Cooper, Old Sally Cooper, and Old Drake Cooper.

"You... love both me AND Sly?" I asked her in surprise.

"I could understand being in love with me, but you like Ella too?" Sly asked.

"Yes, I do... I wanted to know... could I marry both of you in secrecy when your wedding with Neyla happens? I want to work alongside you as both a double agent and as a married quartet," Carmelita smiled, me looking at the fox with a smile.

"What do you think, Sly? Want to finally cement your relationship? I promise the next kids will be raccoons," I smiled at him.

"My answer is gonna take awhile... Yes! And just to emphasize, YES!" Sly said, Carmelita giggling at that as did I.

"Well, then I guess it's settled. In three weeks time, we're having a triple wedding," Bentley smiled.

"Oh yeah! That sounds awesome! I'll be the flower girl!" Ruby smiled widely.

"Aye! I'll be the one to uncork the champaign, captain!" Henriette smiled.

"And I'll be the one to host and destroy the hot dog eating contest!" Murray smirked widely.

"Trust me, Murray, with me feeding two mouths in my tummy plus myself, you're gonna eat those words while I eat not only all of my hot dogs, but all of yours too," I smiled at him.

"It's a deal then... by the way, I've noticed that there isn't much loot that we've come across so far. What's up with that?" Sly asked.

"Just you wait, grand kid of my grand kids... and maybe more, I dunno, but once we get to Salim's section, you'll see the beauty of all of our glorious loot," Henriette smirked, us going in that direction and, once we got there? We gawked at the sights. Jewels, priceless artifacts, gold everywhere! There was even tons of silver, and there was even a hunk of a type of metal next to Salim's photograph that Bentley gawked at.

"Oh my god! This is the extremely rare metal known as Krakonium! It's the very metal that Clockwerk was made out of," Bentley gawked at it, me seeing that it was very black in color, me then looking at Sly's cane and smiling.

"Not only Clockwerk, mate. That's also been the type of metal used by every Cooper ever since Salim's days of old. My cane and cutlass had it, as did Sly's and Captain Ella's canes, and even the likes of Tennesse, Bruce O' Coop, Rioichi, and grandpappy Reid had that metal for our canes! We should definitely plunder this and any other of this metal we can find. We gotta get some new canes to give the new little Coopers when they come out," Henriette smirked, me smiling at her.

"That sounds great," I smiled at her as we then moved more into the place and found even more loot as we started to enter Slaigh MacCooper's area, where he was joined by the photos of Colonel Reid Cooper and Karin Coopergiwa.

"Ah, grandpappy Reid... you looked so buff when ye were younger. An' yer technique saved mine and the captain's asses many times... here," Henriette smiled as she placed something at his photo that I smiled at. It was a music box that she had got during our break from China that she said she was going to give to her grandpappy. She then opened it and I smiled at the tunes it played. It was an old tune that I loved even back in my world. The music of Frere Jacques. "Ye always loved that tune. I remember ye sung that to me back when I was a wee babe... sorry... he was the best grandpappy ever," Henriette smiled with tears coming out of her eyes, me smiling and petting her head at that.

"He'd be proud of his granddaughter for getting as big a loot haul as you did and adding onto it even to this day," I smiled at her.

"Yeah, yer right, captain... let's move forward. Be careful on this next part, mates. Slaigh's gauntlet is all about the wall edge sneak and avoidin' 'is giant mallets of stone," Henriette said as we got to that area and we saw that the mallets were still slamming in overtime. We got past all of them with our own moves and Ruby helping the non-Cooper members across it as we then got to Rioichi's area, where we saw that he actually had a small picture on his pedestal along with his two wooden canes. It was a small photo of Henriette and him when she was just a 6 year old girl. And what was she wearing? Well, it was a kimono and Henriette blushed at it.

"Oh, pappy... ye knew that I hated them things, yet ye always liked me dressed in them when I was in public. Ye were an amazing ninja, though, an' yer fish was the best in the world. I'm glad that ye allowed me to go off to greener seas when I came of age... I love ye, pappy Rioichi," Henriette smiled as she kissed her hand and placed it on the etching of Rioichi on the portrait made from a Japanese scroll. We then moved through the gauntlet of all the swords, Ruby actually needing to be careful with Bentley, Murray, and Carmelita when we went through she they didn't get cut on the points. And the next area we got to? It was Henriette's, but she also had photos of her kids, me smirking at how she actually had 4 children in a small photo gallery around her and how each was actually a Cooper in the Thievius Raccoonus. One was of Thaddeus Winslow Cooper I, then there was Huckleberry Cooper, Sir Augustine of Cooper, and even Suzanne Cooper.

"You sure had a lot of kids, Henriette," I smiled at her.

"Yeah, I did. An' I loved every one of them... shame that they all had to leave the nest, but they all stayed close to each other and added to the book all at the same time. They had a special way of letting each other know what to write down in the book. The way they did it is that they'd switch their locations every two years. That was what I told them just in case Clockwerk may get reassembled again, which is exactly what happened in me older years. Huckleberry stayed in Southern Africa and stole from the rich folks trying to enslave the African people. Thaddeus stayed in London and made his family life there, Augustine went over to India and made a living stealing from the rich nobles. An' Suzanne was the only one that stuck to being the pirate lass of the waters, takin' up me mantel and being the ferry woman for the other three. If she hadn't have learned the water safety technique, she'd have been dead meat. She wasn't a tough cookie, but she sure knew how to make an escape if need be," Henriette smiled at the four kids she took care of as I saw that her section was so far the first to have any kind of modern tech.

"By the way, how do you have this kind of tech in your part of the vault?" I asked her.

"That ain't electric security, mate. Them skulls are cursed skulls. If ye get in the yellow light they emit, ye'll feel the burn in and out of yer body, primarily in yer bowels. When I made this section, I made it so that it'd challenge me young an' all other Coopers. If ye can't get the guts to turn invisible or hide under them boats, ye can't get further to the Inner Sanctum," Henriette smiled. She then grabbed her cutlass and her cane and put them on her back with a smile. "Now I'm gonna use these to continue me line of work as the best damn pirate thief in the world," Henriette smiled.

"Cool!... But the Murray may not be able to fit under those boats," Murray said.

"Then I'll just shrink you and myself down and we'll get carried by Ruby," Bentley said, him bringing out the size destabilizer and shrinking himself and Murray. Ruby smiled and put them in her small purse and we then proceeded to make our way under the boats and avoiding the lights of the skulls as they continuously made their course. And once everyone made it to the other side, Bentley pushed a button and he and Murray then grew to normal size.

"Okay, now that that's done, time to go to the next on the list," I smiled as we then went to the next area and saw that it was none other than Tennessee Kid Cooper. And he was joined by BF Cooper, Thaddeus Winslow Cooper II, Sir Andrew Cooper, and Dev Cooperinda, inventor of the slow jump technique.

"This has to be our most heavily influential page in the Thievius Raccoonus right here. I think we've used Tennessee's move the most during our adventures," I smiled.

"You're actually right about that, Ella. Ever since I learned his move, we've been using ropes and vines as our personal playgrounds ever since. Thanks, Tennessee," Sly smiled at the wanted poster of the kid Cooper and we then moved to the next area, which was filled with more rails and more tight jumps until we eventually made it to the next one, where we saw that it was Thaddeus Winslow Cooper III. And he was joined by the portraits of Chris Cooper, Rob McCooper, and Kelle McCooper. And there was also a small picture next to Thaddeus's cane that was of him and two children. One of them was Matthew De Le Coopeur and the other was of an unknown Cooper named Harriet Coop.

"According to what Thaddeus Winslow III's photo here says, he married four times and was the kindest man as well as the most noble and gentlemanly of all the Cooper clan. Even his three wives loved him and each other because of how kind he was. In fact, he says he never once felt anger for anyone other than the Cooper nemesis. We already know what he's talking about and we took care of it," I smiled as we then moved forward more into the vault and then we came to Otto Van Cooper's area, where his portrait had him with a young kid that looked almost like Sly, except that he had a black fur color with orange stripes on his tail.

"That's my dad when he was a kid! That means Otto must've been my grandfather!" Sly gawked at that.

"And over here is Bruce O Coop. Apparently, his info says he's had to contend with Clockwerk a total of fifteen times and each time he was successful in keeping him at bay. But he knew he couldn't get away for long, so he decided to try to hack the mainframe of Clockwerk in one final attempt. To his surprise, Clockwerk actually got turned off for a good thirty years thanks to his hacking, but he came back to life shortly after Bruce died of natural causes," Ruby said as she read his placard. "Let's move on, if I'm right, there should be one more Cooper after this and we know him all too well. The one that made the Master Thief, Sly Cooper. Conner Cooper," I smiled, leading our gang through the next area, which was filled with hooks and plane motifs all around as well as rotating fans on the floor that came on in intervals. We then finally made it to Conner Cooper and we gawked as we turned on his defenses and we saw something that made everyone surprised.

"So... he expects us to run along this laser beam?" Henriette asked.

"I think so... hmm... let's try it," I said as I then tried it out and I gasped as I slid along the lasers like it was a sick grind rail!

"Come on, guys! Follow me! Whoo!" I said happily as I slid through the lasers until I got to the very end of them, the others joining me shortly with Sly carrying Carmelita and Henriette carrying Bentley and Murray in shrunken form with Ruby simply gliding through the place.

"Sweet seagulls and gravy! We've got to the Inner Sanctum! All of our most precious loot is kept right in this room," Henriette said as we opened the door and the shine that emitted from the room we were now in? It made my hypnotic anger kick in, but I quickly slapped myself at the thought of it.

"Come on, Ella. This ain't somethin' to be mad at. It's something to cry about... so beautiful!" I gawked at everything in this final room of the vault. There were glowing crystals all over the place that lit the room up like it was of royalty, the loot piles had the biggest pieces of art and loot all stored up atop one another, and there was even a special placard on the ground in the center of the room.

"Congratulations, young Coopers. You have made it to the Inner Sanctum of the Cooper Vault. This is the area we add only our most valued treasures in. Remember that Coopers are honorable and that you should never steal from an innocent person unless it is required to get at a master criminal. Carry on the Cooper legacy," the placard said... but then there was an extra bit carved out underneath it. "And Sly... my pride and joy... if I do not make it in the final battle of my life, I hope you are able to reach this spot and do a better job at being a gang leader than I could've been. Love, always... Conner and Winnie Cooper..." I read that last bit out as I saw Sly start to produce tears and he fell to the ground and finally started to cry for the first time ever.

"Father... I did it... I carried on your legacy... I ended the threat of Clockwerk forever... and though I am not the leader of the Cooper gang, we are a family forever..." Sly said with a smile.

"I agree. We're one big family... a family of misfits and wackos, but a family nonetheless," I smiled, Henriette whacking me with her cane lightly on the back of the head, me smirking at that.

"Ye deserved that one, captain," Henriette smirked.

"Fine, I did. But we're finally here... now the big question. How to get out?" I asked... but it was then that I saw something at the end of the area. A special elevator. And it was still operational! Let's see where this leads us," I smiled as I went up the elevator and was surprised at how, when I got to the top, it was actually at the area we first started our trek to the Cooper Vault! It was right underneath a giant boulder! The rock door slid open and I started to laugh out loud at how there was a special button on the rock right there! But it was so well camouflaged, not even Doctor M would be able to know it was there!

"I can't believe it... this whole time, we could've used this rock to go down to the Inner Sanctum... I'll give the designers of the Cooper Vault credit, they sure know how to make a shortcut as well as a very well-hidden secret door!" I smiled as I then called the others and told them to come up. When they did, they were just as shocked as I was!

"This rock... the whole entire time, this rock would've led us to the Inner Sanctum? Doctor M may have tried the wrong method of entry, huh?" Bentley smiled.

"Heh, this is just too good. And after seeing all that wealth in there, guys? Doctor M is not only going to stay in jail for the rest of his life, but we may just end up giving him the chair treatment for all the security and the murders he committed keeping people away from this island," Carmelita said.

"Okay... remember, three weeks and then the wedding of a lifetime. It's going to be set in secrecy. A break-in to a church at midnight to make it official," I smiled at her.

"Yeah... where is the church at?" Carmelita asked.

"The nearest church to your office in Paris. Le Christian Church of Brotherly Love," I smiled.

"Heh, that's where I used to go for church back when I was a kid. Okay, deal," Carmelita smiled as we then made our way back to our ship while we saw that Carmelita was calling for an aerial extraction for her escape.

Once we returned to the ship, everyone looked at us with sheer glee on their faces.

"How was it? Was it amazing?!" Penelope asked in excitement.

"A groovy smoovy?" Dimitri smirked.

"Riches beyond imagination?" Meg smirked.

"When's Carmelita marrying you and Sly again?" Neyla asked, me smirking at her question and how she changed the subject completely just for a laugh.

"Let me tell ya guys, the amount of wealth in that place, especially in the Inner Sanctum?... It's riches are so off the rails insane and so old and ancient, that trying to put a price tag on anything in there would require at least 24 zeros! That's how plentiful the riches are in there!" I smirked widely.

"24?! Why, that's... upwards of One sextillion dollars! And that's just the rough estimate?!" Penelope asked with wide eyes of glee.

"It's an ancient treasure that not even the King name could ever hold a candle to. I am honored to have been by your side to help in reclaiming this sacred island and the treasure belonging to the Cooper clan," Panda King smiled.

"Thanks, Panda King. I think that we're going to take frequent trips back here from now on to add onto the loot in that vault. And we'll only take stuff out of it when we need to," I smiled.

"Agreed," Bentley smiled.

"We're jib jab perfecto with that line of thinking!" Dimitri smiled.

"The amount of money in that vault... it's going to be going to every one of us... right?" Penelope asked with a smile.

"It belongs to each and everyone of us who wants a share of the wealth. We couldn't have gotten this far without any of you. Ella for being our amazing leader. Penelope and Meg with their genius intellect. Ruby and the Guru, with their mystical powers. Dimitri, Neyla, and Panda King, past rivals that have become some of our best friends. Henriette with her amazing knowledge of both the older days and the modern era. Carmelita... the love of my life, the one who puts the criminals in jail that we steal from... and last but not least by a long shot, Murray and Bentley," Sly said, the turtle and hippo looking at Sly with smiles on both of their faces.

"Bentley, your smarts and your heart are the biggest of anyone I know. You went from someone terrified of going out into the field to one of the smartest, most bravest person I've ever known in my entire life. And even though you lost your ability to walk, you still have the courage to get into the thick of the action no matter what it may be," Sly smiled as he then looked at Murray.

"Murray, back in the old days, you were an excellent driver and helped us get out of many scrapes in the past when dealing with the Fiendish Five. And then The Murray showed up and came into his own, taking out thugs left and right like they were measly toothpicks! And through all the turmoils we've faced, you shine atop the pile of bruised bodies with the most willpower and the kindest heart I'd ever known," Sly smiled, me smirking at that as I looked at all of us with a smile. No matter what way you looked at it, we were all one big goofy gang of misfits. But we were a family and nothing would ever change that.

"You know what? I say this is the perfect opportunity for a photo! And just in time! The sun's coming up from the east and the clouds have parted!" I smiled as I placed my Binocucom on tripod mode and then put the camera on timer mode and pushed the button and getting in a pose with the others.

"Three, two, CHEESE!" I said with a smirk as we all did our best poses and the picture was taken. And when the film came out, it was the best photo I'd ever seen.


	48. Wedding of a Lifetime

**Chapter 48**

After we arrived back to civilization, Henriette proceeded to use the size destabilizer on the ship so that it'd be pocket sized after we'd got all of our equipment off of it. We then proceeded inland and back to our Safehouse, me finally crashing on the bed after a long night of nonstop action.

"Ah... that was the best adventure ever..." I smiled as I then simply fell asleep soon after, me being completely drained from that instance as well as the fight I had with Doctor M. For a small old mandrill, he had pretty strong muscles. The rest gave me plenty of time to think about everything that had happened on Kaine Island that was different than before. Of course, with Carmelita confessing her true feelings to Sly and asking to marry not only him, but me as well, I knew that she wouldn't have the unneeded character portrayal of game 4. And also, Sly didn't get attacked by the giant monster because I saved Bentley by killing the monster completely.

And Doctor M was still alive, but according to Carmelita, he was currently in a very fortified prison and he had some very special cuffs on his hands and feet. They were made so that if he were to try to escape from them, they'd get progressively tighter. And he had already been given the death penalty. Four days from now and he'd be executed for the numerous disappearances and deaths of the people that went near Kaine Island. Oh, and the evidence of him killing his own workers, the eyewitness of Richards and his family for being mutant hybrids, and the book that featured Doctor M planning the assault on Sly's father and mother only made the death penalty come faster.

But by far the biggest change? Well, that was from what I heard from Penelope the next morning.

"Hey, Ella? Can we talk in private, please?" Penelope asked, me smiling and nodding.

"Sure, we're besties, we can talk about anything," I smiled at her as I followed her into the bathroom and she then smiled at me. "So what did you want to talk about?"

Penelope smiled and handed me a small pregnancy test and I gawked at it. It was positive and it said she was pregnant with a girl. "I'm pregnant with Bentley's kid..." Penelope said, me smirking and hugging her happily.

"I'm so happy for the two of you," I smiled at her, Penelope putting a finger to my mouth after that.

"I already told Ruby and the Guru to keep quiet about it, as they read minds for a living. I want to surprise Bentley at the wedding by being the fourth girl to get married to my brainy boyfriend," Penelope smiled.

"If you need a dress, I'm sure I can steal one for you," I smiled at her.

"That's quite alright, Ella. I have a wedding dress back in Holland. I'm just going to ask Bentley if we can have our bachelorette party in Holland while the guys have their bachelor party somewhere else," Penelope smiled.

"Atta girl," I smiled at her as we then waited for at least a week until we'd planned everything out for the wedding. The cake, games, and of course, the bachelorette and bachelor parties. And the place that the bachelor party was set? Mesa City, Utah which, since our ordeal with Muggshot, was now back to the glory it was before.

* * *

The only one that didn't stick around to come to the wedding was the Panda King, as he needed to check back up with Jing King now that his debt had been repaid. We understood, and we promised that we'd keep close. Then, after the awesome bachelorette party I attended and I'd finished deciding on a dress to make via the disguise power (it was a classic wedding gown that showed a bit of cleavage, my veil had some flowers on it, and the ruffles were big and fluffy. And no train. Trains for dresses were evil), we were finally ready for the wedding. We broke into the church at midnight and saw that Carmelita was already there and that she'd actually helped in the breaking in department by turning off the power to the security systems with Bentley! She broke the law and she didn't care, which I smiled at.

"Now time for the wedding to start... but where's Penelope at?" Bentley asked.

"Oh, don't worry Bentley. I'm sure she wanted to get some kind of surprise together for the brides and husband-to-be," I smiled at him as we then proceeded to the front of the row and we saw that the preacher was actually someone I didn't expect. It was Carmelita's boss! The chief of Interpol!... But he also was a priest for some reason, and he didn't look at us with animosity at all.

"Before we get to the ceremony, I just want to take this moment to thank all of you Cooper Gang members," the chief of Interpol said. "Because of your... unique ways of thievery, you have saved the world from numerous disasters that would've otherwise killed a lot of people. You defeated Clockwerk with help from Carmelita, who had terrorized the world for thousands of years. You stopped the distribution of Rage Rosetrum the world over and rescued the entirety of Paris from a hypnotic light show of hate while also defeating the wickedness of Brian Wingdust, the most crooked cop in the world. And now, through many different adventures, you have saved Carmelita, our most prized Interpol officer not once, not twice, but over 4 different times you have saved her life! So now, as a thank you, I shall be the chief counsel of this wedding," the Interpol chief smiled.

"Thanks, boss," Carmelita smiled as Dimitri played on the organ in his own unique way, actually playing an organ-based version of his dance party theme, which was awesome for wedding music!

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here tonight for the eternal union between Carmelita Fox and Sly Cooper, Carmelita Fox and Ella Farthington, and Ella Farthington and Neyla Lopez," the chief said, Neyla blushing as I looked at her with a smile at her last name. "Carmelita Fox, do you take Sly Cooper and Ella Farthington as your lawfully wedded spouses? In times of good and times of bad. In sickness and in health. For as long as you three shall live?" the Interpol Captain asked, Carmelita blushing at that.

"I do," Carmelita smiled.

"Sly Cooper, do you accept Carmelita as your lawfully wedded bride? In times of good and times of bad. In sickness and in health. For as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Sly smiled.

"Ella Farthington, do you take Carmelita Fox and Neyla Lopez to be your lawfully wedded wives? In times of good and times of bad. In sickness and in health. For as long as you three shall live?"

"Of course I do," I smiled.

"Neyla Lopez, do you take Ella Farthington to be your lawfully wedded wife? In times of good and times of bad. In sickness and in health. For as long as you both shall live?"

"Yes, I do," Neyla smiled. And then came the part that I had a feeling that Penelope would arrived.

"If there is any among you that objects to these marriages, please speak now or forever hold your peace," the Interpol chief said. And then Penelope appeared from the doors with a smile on her face and her in a wedding dress.

"I object!" Penelope said, me smiling at her while Carmelita and Neyla gasped. "No way you guys are gonna get married... unless I get to marry Bentley!" Penelope said, the turtle gasping and me looking at him. His mouth was wide open and he looked to be stuck. Frozen in shock.

"I'm gonna say that you just broke him, Penelope. Well done. I've tried so hard to get him to break and this is the first he's ever been this way," I smirked as I walked over to Bentley and snapped in his face. Still nothing. Penelope then walked over to Bentley and wagged her nose against his face, Bentley then unfreezing with blush all over his green face.

"Penelope... you really want to marry me?" Bentley smiled.

"Yes, Bentley. Besides, I won't want to feed our baby on my lonesome," Penelope said, her handing Bentley the pregnancy test and him gawking again, but smiling afterwards.

"Let's go, hon," Bentley smiled as he carried Penelope with his jet booster wheelchair until he was there with Penelope.

"Well... okay, this is a surprising turn of events... ahem... last names, please?" the Interpol officer asked.

"Dharma," Penelope smiled.

"I uh... I was never really given a last name... downside of being an orphan," Bentley admitted.

"Well, then we'll make things easier and give you Penelope's last name," the chief smiled, me smirking at that.  
"Penelope Dharma, do you take Bentley to be your lawfully wedded husband? In good times and in bad. In sickness and in health. For as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Penelope smiled.

"Bentley, do you take Penelope Dharma as your lawfully wedded wife? In good times and in bad. In sickness and in health. For as long as you both shall live?"

"Affirmative," Bentley smiled.

"I pronounce every single one of you happily married. You may now pop the cider," the chief said to Henriette, her smirking and shaking it up before uncorking it with her hook, all of us cheering, but making sure it wasn't too rowdy as it was midnight and we were in the building illegally.

Once we had done that, all of us kissed each other and we then went over to the food section where I challenged Murray and Meg in a hot dog eating contest. "I've been preparing for this, guys! All I had for a meal today was breakfast, so let's dig in!" I smiled.

"You're gonna go down, sis," Meg smiled at me as we then saw the starting gun was actually one of those party poppers.

"On your marks. Get set. GO!" Sly said as he popped the party gun and I immediately used slow time and ate as many hot dogs as I could while under the slow time's effects. While Murray was eating his whole, he had to chew them up before swallowing, which is why I used slow time to eat my hot dogs in smaller bites, chewing them up well enough to get them down my throat. I continued to do this for 60 seconds, which was equal to 30 seconds in real time and when I heard Sly slowly say "Time up!", I immediately stopped eating and looked at my plate. It was completely empty of hot dogs while Murray's plate had three left on it and Meg's had five.

"The winner is Ella!" Sly said as he held my hand high and I smiled widely as I felt my stomach was now full to bursting. It was no secret that I could eat as much as Murray if I really wanted to, but this time I pushed my limit. And honestly, it felt really good.

"Ah... that was a victory well-earned..." I smiled before I felt gas come up from my stomach and I couldn't hold it in. "BBBOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRPPPPP!" I burped loudly, it actually making a small gust of air emerge from it that collided into Sly and sent him flying back a few feet with his fur all messed up!

"That smelled of nothing but hot dogs," Sly said as he tried to put his fur down, but it simply puffed out even more, making Carmelita giggle at the Cooper happily.

"Hey, Sly? Now that we're married, how about we go to a different place in this church? One where we can have some privacy?" Carmelita smiled at Sly as she then traced her tail against his side and face, Sly smiling and following after her, falling for her entrancing motions.

"This is the best day of my entire life..." I smiled widely. But I knew my adventures weren't done yet. Not by a long shot.


	49. Revealing Secrets to Neyla

**Chapter 49**

The days rolled by after the weddings... then weeks... and then, after one month and a week, I finally had my new baby boys. The pain was excruciating, but it was all worth it when I saw my babies. They were so cute... the only issue, though? Both of them had traits of Sly, namely the ears and the small claws instead of fingers. But it didn't matter to me. After all, I was dealing with anthropomorphic animals and Meg and I were the very first humans to get into this world. Considering that all my little men got was a difference in ear shape and clawed fingers, I'd say that was quite alright.

"So what are you going to name them?" Neyla asked me as I sat there in the chair, panting after having delivered the two. It took a lot out of me, as it would to any mother, but I was still up and at 'em despite that.

"I'm going to name this one **Crash**. And his brother will be named **Hunter**," I smiled at them.

"Why do I get the feeling those are names associated with your past?" Neyla smirked at me as I simply held my baby boys in their swaddling blankets gently with a smile.

"Crash is from a game called Crash Bandicoot... and Hunter is from a game called Spyro the Dragon. Both series were very close since the companies making them were next door neighbors in the development studio," I smiled at her. "By the way, Neyla... when we get home, I want to tell you a secret. Something that only Ruby, the Guru, my sister, and Henriette know and absolutely nobody else," I smiled at her.

"Must be a pretty big secret if you haven't told me until now," Neyla smiled.

"Not only big, but very important to keep secret forever," I smiled at her.

"Okay. But for now, you'll need to rest and your kids will need their immunization shots and some nursing before you take them home," the nurse said, her being a hyena but not the kind that laughed all the time. And when I asked her during the delivery, she smirked and chuckled at that before shooting down the stereotype by saying that only a few hyenas were like that.

After a few more days of recuperation and after I returned back with my babies, I then had some private time with Neyla when all the others were asleep, kids included.

"So did you want to tell me now?" Neyla asked.

"Yes. Bathroom talk," I said as I led my still-pregnant wife to the bathroom and I locked the doors. "Okay, you remember how I said back in Canada that I knew about Clockwerk beforehand, even before I came to this world?" I asked her, Neyla nodding at that.

"Yeah, you said he was in your world before, right?" Neyla asked. I sighed and shook my head no.

"I lied about that... in fact, I've been lying a lot about my life before this one. Same with Meg," I said, Neyla looking at me in a confused state. "This is going to blow your mind, Neyla, but I have to say it to you, as we're married now and I want to be honest with you from here on out... tss... Meg and I come from 'the real world'. And this world? This reality? It was nothing more than a collection of video games back where I came from," I said, Neyla gasping at that before a smile formed and she started to giggle.

"Are you joking right now? Come on, you have to be, right?" Neyla smiled, me shaking my head no at that.

"You want to see the proof on my phone right here? I saved some of the stuff from my world on it and I made sure that some of the items were unable to be seen by anyone except Ruby and Meg," I said as I brought out my phone and put up some footage from the first game for her. Where Sly battled Ruby in a dance fight.

"Uh... What am I looking at here?" Neyla asked.

"This, Neyla, is the Mz Ruby boss from the first game. Had Meg and I not came to this world and became Ruby's friends, she would've gone to jail for illegally producing zombies, which is a federal offence. And then, there's this," I said as I showed her the next, knowing it'd be the hardest pill for her to swallow.

"You wanna piece of me?! Don't worry! There's plenty to go around!" said Clockla from the 2nd game, Neyla confused at the voice of Brian Wingdust before Sly spoke.

"You may have a new body, Neyla, but you're just the same coward we've beaten time and time again! This won't be any different!" Sly said, Neyla gasping at that.

"Wait... what?... Is... Is this some kind of prank? That didn't happen..." Neyla gawked.

"No, but it would've had I not intervened with the story. Just from mine and Meg's mere presence, Brian Wingdust was the one to ultimately become Clockwerk. But if we hadn't interfered with this world, you would've been the one to back-stab everyone in the jungle, frame Carmelita to be taken to jail, then she would've been captured by the Contessa to be brainwashed with the Clockwerk eyes, then you would've tried to take them and the Clockwerk stomach before finally taking over the Clockwerk frame in the ending of the game," I said, Neyla gawking at that.

"Um... continue, please? I want to know what else changed..." Neyla gulped, me sighing and nodding my head.

"If you say so," I said as I then showed her a clip from the beginning and end missions of the game. Where Doctor M would've thrown Sly's cane away, then Sly would've gotten caught in the monster's hands, and then Carmelita would've been the one to save him, but not before after he'd suffered a massive concussion and tons of pain to his body.

"Oh my god... so if you weren't around when that happened... how would it have ended for Doctor M?" Neyla gawked.

"It would've went the same way, but a different means of death. In this timeline, Doctor M died via electric chair treatment after getting arrested. But in the original timeline where Meg and I didn't screw with the timeline, Doctor M would've fought Sly in the Inner Sanctum and the result would've been the Cooper Vault starting to collapse on itself. Doctor M would've been buried alive in the rubble as he'd be too stubborn to escape the vault after lusting it for so long. And Sly would've faked amnesia and become a constable under Carmelita until our next big adventure. Believe it or not, if I'd not done some things in this timeline the way I did them, Carmelita would've been much more angry at Sly in this adventure than originally intended. She would've attacked Sly instead of thank him for freeing her from the Mask of Dark Earth, she'd pose as Jing King thinking that she'd be arresting Sly in the wedding with Tsao, and in the second game? She would've been the one in Canada to try and capture Murray, not Brian Wingdust trying to catch my sister in a Carmelita disguise," I said.

"Whoa... so... because of you being here with your sister... the timeline is now so messed with that it'd be impossible to have it go back to normal?" Neyla asked.

"Yes. And the only reason we messed with it so much is because... well, we've given up all hopes of being able to go back to our world... and besides, we wouldn't be able to leave now that we've had all these adventures with all of you guys and that we've had decided to carry kids with some of the characters in this world... I have Sly's kids and Meg got her pregnancy from a sperm bank... and from what I heard from her, she's thinking about hooking up with Murray," I said with a sigh.

"So... what does the future hold for us?" Neyla asked, me groaning at that.

"See, this is why I don't really tell anyone except those that I truly trust. The only reason I told Ruby, Guru, and Henriette about my past is because they were able to see my thoughts at any point in time. I only told them so that they wouldn't tell anyone else what they saw so I wouldn't feel like I was being used as a crystal ball to see the future," I said with a frown, Neyla tensing up at that.

"Oh... s-sorry..." Neyla frowned.

"It's fine... just promise me that you won't ask me things like what may happen in the future? Because I don't even know how long it will be until our next adventure comes around, since the time frame between the Clockwerk Affair and this adventure to get started for Kaine Island? In the games it was about one year. In this timeline? Three months," I said to her.

"I see... could you at least tell me one thing to expect from our next adventure? I promise not to say a word of it," Neyla said.

"Two words. Time. Travel," I said, Neyla's eyes going wide at that.

"Really?... Far out... I'm guessing that means we'll need to go meet the past Coopers, right?"

"Right, but some things are going to happen that I'm not sure of how they'll play out... I'm only going to mention one thing that has to happen in order for the adventure to take place. Penelope, before the event happens, will go missing out of nowhere. She becomes one of the villains in the story of Sir Galleth Cooper... we have to let her and Bentley's relationship play out and find out what will happen. Because I have a feeling that is going to be the biggest change to the story," I said.

"Understood. I'll keep my mouth sealed about this. If it's this serious, no way am I going to blab this to anyone," Neyla said, me nodding at her.

"Okay, good," I smiled as we then went out of the bathroom and I sighed happily at the fact that everyone was still asleep and we were speaking so quietly, nobody would've heard what I said anyways. "Alright, time for sleep," I whispered to Neyla, us about to lay down... but then my baby boys started to fuss. "Nevermind... now everyone's gonna wake up unless I feed them," I smiled, knowing I'd have to get used to this. I'd have to sleep directly next to my babies so I could be right there for them.


	50. 8 Years, 6 Kids, Back to the 1600s

**Chapter 50**

It had been at least 8 years since that day that I told Neyla my secret and our gang pulled numerous small jobs during this time, but nothing too noteworthy aside from some big hitters that weren't even in the games. And even then, they were pushovers as opposed to the baddies from the fourth game. But then, 8 years and 5 days after I'd given birth to Crash and Hunter and after Meg, Neyla, Penelope, and Carmelita had kids of their own, the cogs started to turn for the final entry in the series. Penelope, after going to a science expo alone, had suddenly vanished. She'd been AWOL for at least a week before the holding chamber Bentley made for the Thievius Raccoonus started to blare.

After we inspected it, we soon discovered something bad was happening. It was just as it was in the game. The pages of the Thievius Raccoonus were slowly evaporating into thin air, the text on them disappearing bit by bit, the first of them starting with Rioichi Cooper's pages. We didn't waste any time in getting to the bottom of this, as something else was happening to our fellow pirate Cooper. She warped directly to our location with the Cooper Mistress, as she had been living among the pirates in Blood Bath Bay during this time of year. She usually went there during the Fall and Winter months to escape the cold and just because she loved being a pirate.

But right now? She wasn't gonna be up for much pirating. Her left hand was disappearing right before our very eyes and she looked at us with fear in her eyes. Genuine fear, something she never exhibited before.

"Captain! Help me, please!" Henriette said as she tried to walk over to me, but then I saw that she had a few toes missing on her left foot, which resulted in her tripping on the floor.

"Aunt Henry... something's going on with the Thievius Raccoonus," said Carmelita and Sly's kid, **Tricky Cooper**. She was about 7 years old right now and she was actually a fox. The very first fox Cooper in history. But she had already started to study the book as did my boys, who were both 8 years old. She was about 3 feet tall as of current and her outfit consisted of a pink shirt, jean overalls, and small sneakers on her feet. She also had pink colored hair as opposed to the blue hair Carmelita had. And as for Neyla's, Meg's, and Penelope's kids?

"Yeah, the book's missing, like, fifteen words from Rioichi's pages! And it's still disappearing as we speak!" said Penelope's little girl, **Brie Dharma**. She was a little mouse girl of 7 years old, her hair being in the form of a braided ponytail, much like Penelope's was in the past. Penelope had since grown her hair longer and wore it in a single ponytail while letting her tail openly flow through her clothes with a ribbon attached to it, perfectly matching her design from Thieves in Time. As for Brie, she also had small freckles, had some glasses on her face, having shared her parents' poor eyesight, and she also had quite the brain on her for only being a kid. She actually helped out with some of our previous jobs in thieving, being the youngest in our family to do so at only 5 years old when she did her first crime.

"That'd explain me disappearing limbs, then. I didn't start the thievin' business until Pappy Rioichi was well in his 40's... an' judging by how his stories are missing from the second page onward, I'd say someone must've changed history by going back in time... but how, would be the obvious question..." Henriette frowned.

"Well, why not look to Uncle Bentley? He's got a secret project he's been working on with our help," said Neyla's kid, who she named **Gianna Lopez**. She took traits from the father of the cum, that meaning that she was a squirrel, which I was hoping for, as we never saw a squirrel in the series. She had a large bushy tail, wore a pink shirt with matching pants, and she insisted on wearing a bonnet on her head like Neyla did because she loved to imitate her. Her bonnet was light blue with black stars on it and her face was adorable. She didn't even have buck teeth!

"Yeah! Go on, Uncle Bentley! Show off the secret project!" my kids and Meg's kid said at the same time. Meg's kid's name was **Elliot Farthington**. And he was quite the scrapper, always picking fights with people who were much larger than he was if it meant defending his friends, both in our gang/family and at school. And he could hit like a truck, as he was able to learn the Cooper moves, same with all of the other children. His favorite, of course, was the Bone Cracker Crush, which he used to win numerous rounds of Little League Boxing and take out big bad thugs like they were trash bags! And the animal father he got traits from to make him look different? He had slight scales on parts of his neck, wrists, and ankles and he had a long, skinny tail. And at the end of it? A rattle. He was part rattlesnake, which was awesome! Even Meg liked it when his tail rattled.

"Okay, feast your eyes on my new invention, the Time Machine!" Bentley smirked as he pulled a rope and a large tarp near the wall was lifted to reveal the giant clock apparatus. "This Time Machine will be able to let us go to any period in time we please," Bentley smiled widely. "The only downside is that we need an item that is from the period in time specifically. We'll need to get an authentic piece of history from the timeline of Feudal Japan in order to get underway with our investigation," Bentley said.

"But... what about mommy?" Brie asked with big eyes.

"Sorry, Brie. I want to find her too, but this book having its contents erased is a more pressing matter. If it continues, not only will Henriette cease to exist with us, but it will also affect our very world as we know it. Sly will never be born, so none of our adventures would've ever happened. And that means none of you would exist either, little ones," I said, the kids all gasping and looking at each other before nodding all at once.

"We're coming with you," Gianna said, her tail puffing up with seriousness... but then again, she puffed her tail for any negative emotion.

"First, we'll need to get the van equipped with the Time Machine, then we'll need to find something authentic that originates from the time era of 1600. That's the year that Rioichi first wrote down this page that began to vanish... see, the date's right there. September, 1600 AD," Bentley said.

"Alright! I think I know just the place," Sly smiled as he got on his new cell phone and called up his wife.

"Carmelita? Hey, we're experiencing something bad right now," Sly said, me wondering what Carmelita would say. "No, nothing's wrong with Tricky. It's something wrong with the Thievius Raccoonus and Henriette... hon, the words in the book are disappearing from Rioichi's chapter!... Yeah, and Henriette's starting to vanish too!..." Sly said, me wondering what her next words would be.

"Bentley has a Time Machine made... yes, a real working one... we need to storm the local museum that just opened. You know, the one owned by Cyrille Le Paradox? We need one of their ceremonial daggers from the early 1600s. We need it in order to get to his time to figure out what's going on... uh huh... okay, we're going to go tonight. You're coming with us when it happens," Sly said. "Yes, the kids are coming too. Okay, see you tonight, hon," Sly smiled, me smirking as he hung up soon after.

"Tonight is the night we go to that museum and get that dagger," Sly said.

"Agreed," Ruby said as we then went over the plans... oh yeah, as for Ruby, she had actually grown to the same size she was in her first appearance, but she wore a longer shirt and she was much thinner in both tail and body shape, meaning she was able to get around much easier.

* * *

Once it hit 11 PM, our group proceeded to the museum in question. Sly, myself, Carmelita, and Neyla were in charge of getting to the dagger itself via the sunroof. Bentley, Meg, and Brie would be the ones doing the computer support to take down any security. And Murray, Elliot, Crash and Hunter were in charge of getting to the main control room to make sure that the cameras would be turned off.

My group immediately proceeded across the rooftops of the museum until we eventually reached the sunroof for the room with the dagger. There was tons of security in this room alone, including the brand new green security lasers. From what we learned, these actually were put in place just a year before. And if you happened to touch them, you'd not only trip the alarms, but you'd also get fifty thousand volts of electricity zapped into your body, kind of like a taser. And they were infrared on top of that, meaning invisibility wouldn't work.

"Okay, we're in position to make the swipe. How you coming on the security systems, Bentley?" I asked into the Binocucom.

"We're already taking care of the lasers... and Murray's team should be finishing up with the cameras... and there! All clear!" Brie smiled as I saw the cameras power off and the lasers retreat completely.

"Score!" Neyla smirked as she went in via cable and she made the swipe, leaving behind my personal favorite calling card that I hadn't used in so long. A single penny.

"Okay, now what?" Carmelita asked as we hoisted Neyla back up and we then looked to where the others were. And just as we thought that, the van appeared from the back garden, all of us jumping to it and piling in through the trunk. And once we did, Murray then drove like a maniac through the gates and street until we were on a straight road.

"Okay, now what?" Meg asked.

"Just put the dagger into the machine," Bentley said, Meg doing so and the time being set for September of 1600 AD. "Anytime you want to punch it, Murray," Bentley smiled.

"With pleasure, chum!" Murray smirked as he then floored the van and we started to go forward as the time machine finally booted up. And, just as we were about to plow into a truck blocking our path (along with all the gas mask rats), we suddenly found ourselves going through a giant warp tunnel of awesomeness! It was awesome seeing it firsthand! The lights were all blue and white and we started to see small pictures pop up that looked like the 1600s of Feudal Japan, including bamboo, the pagodas, and the sushi!

"Okay, mates. Time I tell you about me pappy Rioichi while we journey through time," Henriette smiled. "Not only was he the greatest ninja in the world, but he was also a master chef. He specialized in sushi... in fact, despite what all the news people say, Rioichi was the inventor of sushi! It made the perfect cover of him working at a sushi restaurant, allowing him to give orders to his chefs to cook the stuff for the restaurant while he did the thieving during the night shift," Henriette smirked.

We then finally appeared in the Feudal Japan and activated the van's invisibility cloak, driving it to a small cave that was secluded from the rest of the town. And the moment we arrived, we could tell that something was up, and so did Henriette.

"What? Why are there giant pig guards all over the place?... They were supposed to be guarding the gov'ner's palace, so why are they patrollin' the streets?" Henriette asked.

"A more fitting question is that house in the distance... correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't it seem odd that a sushi restaurant over there is out of business and guarded by more of those pigs?" Crash asked, pointing to the building in question and Henriette gasping.

"No... this can't be! They've got pappy! We need to find out where he is immediately!" Henriette said in sheer worry.

"Agreed, but keep in mind a few things while we're traveling through time, guys," I said. "First rule, do not kill or mortally wound anybody in the past. Just one death could spark a butterfly effect. Second rule, since we're in the past, we all know of one particular monster to be cautious about. And I am not talking about the one doing the time hopping. I'm talking about Clockwerk. If you see or hear him, use invisibility and retreat to this area immediately," I said, Neyla and Carmelita gulping at that, as did Bentley and the kids. After all, we told them ghost stories about Clockwerk and how he was the biggest monster in history, and they believed it after seeing his face in the Thievius Raccoonus on nearly every page. "And thirdly, I have a sneaking suspicion that the one that went back to this time to mess things up has some connection to Penelope, as she went missing shortly before this stuff started happening. So if we find the guy responsible and we corner him, grill the daylights out of him," I said seriously.

"Understood," Bentley said, his seriousness being the most apparent of all of us, minus Henriette. "First, we'll need some recon photos of the area. Ruby, Ella, and Tricky will go out to take pictures of anything noteworthy."

"Yay! My first recon mission! This is gonna be fun!" Tricky smirked happily, her tail swishing happily at that.

"Yes, this just may very well be," I smiled at her as we then went out to do the recon mission of the Japanese area.


	51. Ninja and Pirate Reunion

**Chapter 51**

Whenever our group began to take recon photos of the area, we agreed we'd go to separate locations. I was in charge of going to the sushi restaurant while Ruby and Tricky got the job of taking a picture of the giant industrial gate and a photo of a pig with armor on him respectively. And once all the photos came in, we then got a message from Bentley.

"Guys, I'm detecting some movement by the nearby geisha house. Go there and find out who it is," Bentley said, me nodding and heading in that direction, our trio standing on a rooftop as we saw someone exit the geisha house. It was El Jefe. And he looked like he was upset.

"This guy looks more like he'd belong in our timeline than in the 1600s... just the fact that he's a tiger kind of gives that away," Tricky frowned.

"Agreed, let's take a picture," Ruby said as we then took some snapshots of him, sending them to Bentley and him to gawk at that.

"You were right, Ella. This is the handiwork of someone else having a time machine... I swear on my mother's shell that we will find out where they got those plans and how they got Penelope..." Bentley said with fear.

"Don't worry, dad. Mommy's tough," Brie smiled at Bentley, me smirking at that. We then returned to the Safehouse and we got a talk with Bentley, him getting on his computer and looking up some data on the tiger in question.

"Okay, it seems that this guy is named El Jefe. He's a corrupt military general that has conquered numerous small countries to the highest bidder. And one of his achievements is that he once took over a single country with an army of blind mice with plastic spoons as their weapons," Bentley frowned.

"Yeah, I don't think that's plausible, but if he could take over numerous small countries, then the big bad that stole the time machine plans probably sent him back in time to conquer this area... and I think this big bad may have been one of our enemies, as he's specifically going after Rioichi Cooper," Meg frowned.

"Yeah, this is getting a bit scary," Neyla frowned.

"But nothin' we can't handle!" Elliot smiled widely.

"Yeah! We can fight with the best of them! So, how do we find Rioichi?" Gianna smiled.

"From what I've been able to decipher from the layout of the area, there appears to be a prison area near one of the nearby cliffs. But it's under constant guard. We'll need one of you guys to make up a disguise to look like a samurai from these times and convince the guard to let you in. Then, just make your way to Rioichi and free him. We'll learn more from him for sure," Brie said.

"Quite smart, Brie. You ever thought about uh... anything relating to chocolate ice cream?" Crash smiled at her, me smirking at how Brie blushed at that. The two were obvious childhood sweethearts... if not for one thing...

"Hey, if anyone wants to eat ice cream with her, it's me, bro!" Hunter said to Crash. This was pretty much the only thing they ever squabbled over. Winning over Brie's affections.

"Hey, boys? You know the rules. When we're on the job, no fighting and no flirting with Brie, got it? Or would you rather have the ear treatment again?" I asked them, the boys then shutting up with a grumble.

"I think that I'd like to go with Captain Ella, Carmelita, an' Sly if ye don't mind," Henriette said.

"Okay, then we'll need Sly to be the one to dress as the samurai. No offense to you guys, but from what I've seen in those old timey samurai movies, there are no girl samurai. Like, at all," Elliot frowned.

"Yeah, back in these days, a lass being in that kinda position was so unheard of that me name became legendary on the Seven Seas, as I was one of the very few female pirates out there. An' before I was a pirate, I was a geisha... I do wonder where I could be in this timeline in me younger age, though..." Henriette frowned.

"We're best to just go find Rioichi right now, Henriette. Sly, you think you can get into your getup now?" I smiled at him.

"Sure," Sly smirked as he disguised himself in the samurai costume that was the same as in game. "Now to go to that prison," Sly smiled. We then proceeded to head to that location with Carmelita and me helping Sly up to the top of the cliff while invisible (as Carmelita was now a Cooper, she could use the moves just as well) and he proceeded to speak with the guard at the front gates.

"Halt! State your name," the pig guard frowned.

"I am... Colonel Muggshot," Sly said in a deep, slightly Japanese accent.

"Peh, never heard of you. And you look quite small to be a Colonel," the pig frowned, Sly then acting tough.

"You dare to question me?! Son, I've been a guard ever since before you were but a squealing piglet! Wait until I tell the general about this... I hear he loves pork chops," Sly said, me smiling at how the pig got scared at that.

"Wait, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you... please, go on in," the pig said, Sly then walking past as the gates opened and we followed in after him with invisibility intact. We then walked past all the guards until we got to a viewing area where we could see Rioichi. He was hung in a giant cage over a giant chasm.

"Hey! Rioichi? You okay?" Sly asked.

"You guards all seem to make very poor jokes," Rioichi frowned with vinegar in his voice.

"Oh, he ain't no guard, mate. We're here to bust ye free," Henriette smirked as Sly let down his disguise and we let down our invisibility.

"Ah, fellow ninja, I see," Rioichi said.

"Not just fellow ninja, mate," Henriette smiled as she then used the defy gravity spell to go up to Rioichi, him gawking at that as she then got to his cage with a smile.

"We're Coopers... never thought I'd meet ye like this, pappy," Henriette smiled at her father before busting the lock to his cage.

"Wait... no one has called me pappy... except... are you an elder version of my daughter?" Rioichi gawked at her.

"In the flesh, pappy. We need to get goin', we'll explain everythin' once we're out of this joint," Henriette said as she helped the ninja Cooper out of his cage and she activated a paraglider that she made on her own. It was basically one of her pirate ship sails that she modified to be used as something to slow her descent. She then flew her and Rioichi down to us and we saw a handcart nearby.

"Time to go out with a bang," I smiled as I got the reigns of the cart and Rioichi and Henriette hopped into it, me then pulling something out of my purse. It was a hat I'd kept since my escape of the Contessa's prison. The prison hat. I threw it directly at the gates and then, upon impact, it detonated with a massive explosion, me then rushing our group out of the place using Slow Time with Sly and Carmelita following behind. We ran the entire way back to the Safehouse before I stopped the slow time and Rioichi looked to be breathing erratically, most likely from the insane speeds we went at and him not being prepared for it.

"Hoo... hah... now I know for a fact that you're all Coopers... from the future... correct?" Rioichi asked.

"Well, how'd you guess?" Carmelita smiled.

"No one but a Cooper could use a power as incredible as that... I shan't ask who made it and when, as I'm sure that the ancestry of the Cooper legacy would make it anyways," Rioichi frowned.

"Indeed, now why don't you tell us about how this all happened?" I asked as we got into the hideout and Rioichi began to explain.

"It was just a shot while after I sent my little Henriette out to a vacation with Madame Geisha. I was preparing sushi at my restaurant at a time that the Shogun was visiting. It was a very rare honor to feed my masterful specialty to a person as powerful as he, so I got to preparing the sushi immediately upon his arrival. But something had happened during my cooking. For some odd reason, another person on the floor gave the shogun rotten sushi, saying that I made it. I didn't learn of this until I came out of the kitchen with a fresh batch and saw the shogun choking on the sushi and him then vomiting on the carpets... the man who did this, and admitted to me that he did this to get me thrown in prison, was El Jefe. He appeared out of nowhere and poisoned the shogun! And with the shogun now in need of recuperation after being poisoned, El Jefe has announced himself in charge of the vicinity. We need to find out why he is here and how to regain my reputation," Rioichi frowned.

"That's horrid, pappy... this El Jefe guy comes from the future too and he's tryin' to erase yer name from the history book of all Cooper ancestry," Henriette frowned as she showed him the book and he saw the pages for his page... now there were thirty words that were missing and Rioichi gasped as he saw another one disintegrate right before his eyes!

"We need to rectify this posthaste! Come, my daughter! It is time we take back my restaurant and show El Jefe that the Cooper family is not to be trifled with!" Rioichi said with anger in his voice.

"I'm coming with you. After all, we'll need someone to get the guards off their post in front of the sushi place," Sly said.

"You go ahead and do that, I'll go around the town and try to eavesdrop on the guards. You never know when they might have something important to say," I smiled.

"Good thinking. I'll go with you, just in case something happens," Neyla smiled.

"Us too," Crash and Hunter said.

"Remember, no hurting or killing anyone here. Just a bit of knockout dust," I smiled at them.

"Of course," Neyla smirked at me as I traced my finger down her tail again, earning another purr. I loved it when she purred!


	52. Shenanigans in Feudal Japan

**Chapter 52**

After our group went out to eavesdrop on the guards, I overheard some interesting things as I saw El Jefe speaking to some of the pig guards.

"If you see that Rioichi Cooper, you capture him and see if he has his cane on him. We need that package for the boss," El Jefe frowned at the pig guard, him doing a salute at that.

"Interesting," I frowned silently as we continued to follow him and he then spouted some more stuff.

"Now I am confused... how could Rioichi escape that prison so effortlessly? Le Paradox said we'd encounter minimal resistance from him if we got him without his cane, so how did he escape?" El Jefe asked aloud, Neyla frowning at that.

"So it is Le Paradox... then again, the Panda King mentioned that he was one of Conner's biggest rivals other than Clockwerk," Neyla frowned.

"Well, then it looks like we're going to need to get the jump on him at some point. Want me to knock him out, mum?" Crash smiled at me.

"No, he's a military general of the highest rank. If you tried to fight him, he'd kill you on sight, even if you are a child," I frowned at him as we continued to tail him until he got to a small shack by the riverside.

"Okay, let's head back," I said as we then made our way back just in time to see the sushi restaurant flare to life. "Looks like Rioichi is back in the business," I smiled at that.

"Yay!" Hunter smiled widely as we made it back to the hideout and Rioichi returned soon after.

"Hai. Now we must go about finding out what Jefe knows as well as obtain fish for my restaurant. Sadly, I inspected my storage to find that my collection of fish has been neglected and is rotten. I require a fresh supply to make sushi properly again," Rioichi frowned.

"Understood. Murray, Elliot and I will go out and get some fish for your restaurant. Meanwhile, Brie will help Henriette, Ella, and Sly into the geisha house. El Jefe loves to talk to Madame Geisha and he doesn't know that she's on vacation. If we want to find out what he tells her, we're going to need Henriette to disguise herself as Madame Geisha," Bentley said, Henriette pouting at that.

"Ugh... only fer the team, mate. I swore I'd never get in one of them kimonos ever again, but I guess this is going to be the exception," Henriette frowned, Rioichi smiling at her.

"You never change, daughter," Rioichi smiled at her as we then moved out to our jobs with Sly and I going to the geisha house through the hatch on the rooftop and going down onto one of the balconies where we wouldn't be detected.

"Okay, Uncle Sly and Aunt Ella, the case for the geisha outfit is directly in the middle of those guards. But the only way through it is through the top, which is opened remotely by a security computer. I gave you that special device to allow me to jack into the computer from the safety of the hideout. It should be directly inside of the east wing, but that way is locked. So you'll need to proceed there by going through the west wing," Brie said with seriousness.

"Look at you takin' charge, Brie! I'm proud of you," I smiled at her, making her blush.

"Aw, thanks!" she smiled widely as I then looked at the west wing door and I saw something by the inside of it. It was a switch of sorts. I decided to see what would happen if I pushed it and I soon gawked as the door then closed up and I heard Sly say something on his end.

"Whoa! That button you pushed ended up opening the east wing and closing this door! Hold on, I'll go over there right now," Sly smiled as I waited for his go-ahead. And soon, he pushed his button and I saw my door open again.

"Well, that's handy!" I smirked as I exited the door and Sly then made his way to the computer on his end. Cheating was always fun, I thought.

"Okay, I'm going in. Standard energy node security, no problem," Brie smiled as we then waited as she did the mini game with the poor motion controls from the controller. I hated them in the game because it never worked right for anything. I then saw something on one of the different posters that made me then realize something. The picture of Madame Geisha... she wasn't a rhino like in the games! She was, get this, a fox! I then decided to call up Rioichi and see what he said.

"Hey, Rioichi? Question... do you know the full name of Madame Geisha by chance?" I asked him.

"Hai, her full name is **Kanna Foxina**. Why do you ask?" Rioichi asked. But it was Carmelita who said something in the Binocucom.

"Wait... Kanna Foxina?... That's one of MY ancestors!" Carmelita said in shock as the case was opened and Henriette came in through the ceiling hatch and landed right inside of the kimono gown, her getting the guards' attention as she then quickly put on the makeup and she did her hair up in a geisha style, holding a fan in her hand as well.

"Hey! Who are you? State your business!" the guard exclaimed as the smoke then cleared and Henriette then did a provocative wave of her fan, the guards all gawking at her.

"Konnichiwa, boys. I am the most famous Madame Geisha. Please, allow me to entertain you," Henriette said, but not in her pirate accent. She actually used a Japanese accent, one sounding like it could very easily belong to that of a Japanese ancestor of Carmelita. She then walked daintily to the stage as I saw that the theatre started to play the same music as in the game and Henriette began to dance to it provocatively, the pig guards all losing their minds into the curse known as lust. And I could tell by just the look on Henriette's face that she was loving it.

The dance lasted for about two minutes, the guards all caught in a daze when it was over as Henriette then walked off the stage in a cute way, me smirking at her as she left through the front door with Sly and I doing the same, but invisible. We then proceeded to go back via the rooftops and I smiled at Henriette.

"Hey, Henriette? Is Madame Geisha your mother by chance?" I asked her, Henriette smiling and blushing at that.

"Aye, mate, she is. An' from what Carmelita was sayin', she's one of her ancestors... an' come to think of it, one o' me first mates on the Cooper Mistress all them years ago had a strikin' resemblance to her also... hmm... ye don't suppose that Carmelita has had numerous ancestors fall in love with the Cooper clan, do ye?" Henriette pondered.

"Well, considering that your mother was one of Carmelita's ancestors, I'd guess some other ancestors also got together with past Coopers... it looks like your family is full of Casanova Coopers going after sexy fox girls, Sly," I smiled at him.

"You know, I'd normally agree, but I wouldn't want Carmelita to get mad at me if I said she was sexy in that way," Sly said with a smile.

"Smart choice," I giggled back at him as we returned to the hideout with Henriette keeping the outfit on her. And soon, Murray, Bentley, and Elliot came from the caves with a large cart filled with big fish.

"Ah, this fish will make perfect sushi for my restaurant. Thank you, Bentley-san and Murray-san," Rioichi smiled at the duo.

"Okay, now for the next few jobs. We're going to need to have someone tail El Jefe with the RC Car to listen in on whatever he might say. And then we'll need a team to go out to the fishing caves and get some special bulbs from a plant called the Spiky Wall Climber. We're going to need it for the heist," Bentley said.

"Ah, I see. You wish to use the guards' love of my sushi against them. Very devious, Bentley-san," Rioichi smiled.

"In the meantime, I'm gonna go and stand by the geisha house in case Jefe goes in that direction. Given he likes Madame Geisha, he may kiss me hand, giving me an opportunity to steal anythin' he may be carrying," Henriette smiled.

"Oh, and by the way, guys. When Neyla, the boys and I were out eavesdropping on the guards earlier, we overheard El Jefe talking about his boss. You'll never guess who it is that wants the Coopers erased from history," I frowned.

"Who?" Gianna asked.

"Cyrille Le Paradox, the owner of the museum we stole the katana from. Do you recall that one time on our escape from China? The Panda King mentioned that the Le Paradox clan was one of the two rivals to Conner's gang, the other being Clockwerk. So that means not only are we facing Conner Cooper's rival, but he's a multimillionaire with a time machine and a vendetta against Cooper history," I said with seriousness.

"Okay, I'll go and tail El Jefe with the RC Car," Ruby smiled.

"In the meantime, I think that us other kids will go with Rioichi to get the poison seeds," Tricky smirked.

"Just be careful," Murray said to her.

"Of course, Uncle Murray," Tricky smiled as she then went out to go do the job with the other kids and Rioichi while I decided to keep watch over Brie while she used the RC Car. And just as we arrived at the Geisha House, Brie launched the car as she saw El Jefe proceed towards the prison area.

"Okay, just need to be careful not to alert the guards or this is a bust," Brie frowned as she moved the car with her remote control and used her glasses as her computer screen, which I thought was genius. She saw everything the car did and heard anything the car heard from its microphone. I then heard Jefe speaking in my earpiece from the car's microphone.

"To think that this glorious prison pales in comparison to my grand statue fortress," Jefe said.

"That must be where he hides out all the time," I said.

"But even then, no one would ever guess that the switch to open the gates is actually UNDER the bridge!" Jefe said, me smirking at that.

"Wow, talks a lot and smokes pot," I smirked, Brie giggling at that as she used the car some more and, upon reaching the caves, Jefe started to talk again.

"Peh, fishing caves. Good thing I sealed them off. Now I just need to make sure the guards standing over my imperial gates don't get distracted by stupid sushi!" Jefe said, me smirking at that. "Heh, why should I care, though? Even if the guards weren't on duty, nobody would ever think that the switches to open the gates are inside the dragons' mouths! Haha!" El Jefe said with a boastful grin.

"Keep on flappin' those big lips, suckah! Haha!" Brie giggled as she and I then had to turn invisible as El Jefe made his way back to the Geisha House and Brie had to quickly make the RC Car turn into disguise mode... as a chicken. And guess what? El Jefe was fooled by it! Didn't think anything of it!

"Now all I need to do is find that blasted Rioichi! I need that package to get to the boss," El Jefe frowned.

"Package... boss?... What does that mean?" Brie asked.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon. Look at his back. He's got plans on it," I smiled as Henriette then approached El Jefe in her disguise.

"Konnichiwa, Jefe-San," Henriette said with a smile, El Jefe smiling at her.

"Greetings, Madame Geisha," El Jefe smiled as he knelt down and closed his eyes, kissing Henriette's hand as she then used slow time to quickly and silently grab the plans and toss them to us, me catching it and showing them to Brie.

"Oh my gosh... he's going to try and steal Rioichi's cane! The cane is the package!" Brie gawked with barely a sound, as Jefe was right there. Henriette then walked into the geisha house... but stopped in place when El Jefe did one thing to her. He slapped her on the ass. And what happened after that? The gig was up.

"Oh, yer gonna pay fer that, PERVERT!" Henriette exclaimed in her pirate accent as she then turned around and tackled El Jefe down to the ground, the surprise attack actually getting El Jefe to knock his head against the rocky ground and causing him to get knocked for a loop as a result! But that wasn't good enough for Henriette. She then started to punch him in the face, stomach, and crotch until I finally came in and got her under control.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! That's enough, Henriette! He's already out!" I said to her, Henriette groaning and snarling at El Jefe.

"There, he's knocked out. Let's get him back to the hideout with ropes tighter than me panties on a hot night!" Henriette fumed, me not even trying to stop her. I didn't care if it would affect the plot. We needed to learn stuff from this guy. I quickly found a bit of tough rope by the nearby pier and tied it around El Jefe's arms and back after stealing his katanas. I then did an extra bit and tied up his ankles so he couldn't kick us either. I then carried him with Henriette down to the hideout and sat him in a chair, the others gawking at the big haul we brought back.

"I don't believe it! You actually captured El Jefe?!" Sly gawked at us.

"If he wouldn't 'ave slapped me on the ass, we'd 'ave let 'im go," Henriette frowned, me then adding a couple added ropes to the ones already on there so he'd be tied up in the chair. And then, he woke up. And he gasped when we saw we had him tied up.

"Well, well, well. It looks like we've got a kitty to interrogate," I said, El Jefe trying to bust free to no avail. "Now, are we going to do this the easy way... or the banana slammah way? Trust me pal, you do not want to banana slammah treatment," I smirked at him, El Jefe frowning at me angrily.

"What do you want to know, bitch?" El Jefe growled.

"First off, don't swear here, there are children in this hideout. Now question number one, why are you helping Le Paradox change history by eliminating the Cooper clan? You know that erasing a person from history causes a butterfly effect, so what's the deal?" I frowned at him, El Jefe frowning at that.

"What do you mean by that?" El Jefe frowned.

"Basically, if one person dies or something is changed in history, the world in the future becomes vastly different. Something as simple as killing a small butterfly could lead to drastic changes. People may never be born, the world could end, numerous factors could happen," I frowned.

"Hmph... Le Paradox never mentioned that to me, so why should I believe you?" El Jefe asked. But just as he asked that, Sly gasped as something started to happen to not only him, but all of us at the same time!

"Uh.. whoa!" Sly gasped as he looked at his gloved hand. It was missing two fingers!

"Daddy! My toes are starting to vanish!" Tricky said with fear.

"M-Mine too!" Brie gasped in fear as the kids then started to cry. And when El Jefe saw it, he gasped in shock and horror.

"This. This is what happens when stuff in the past is changed," I frowned as Sly then got the Thievius Raccoonus out and found that Rioichi's pages were back to normal. But the ones from Tennessee Kid Cooper? Already three words were gone with word number four starting to vanish soon after! "Now do you want to be cooperative?" I asked him. And then El Jefe gasped when he saw that two of his fingers were starting to evaporate into nothingness.

"Alright! I'll tell you! Le Paradox kidnapped a mouse girl from a science expo a week ago in the present day! He then put a special tracking device in serum within her head! If she ever disobeys Le Paradox even once now, Le Paradox will give an order to the serum to boil her blood until she dies! She was forced to create a perfect time machine to send people to the past via Le Paradox's blimp! He sent me here to thwart Rioichi Cooper after paying me 6 million Euros!" El Jefe said with fear in his voice and at a high volume, me then hearing something from outside.

"What was that I just heard?" asked an old voice, Rioichi gawking at that.

"It is the Shogun!" Rioichi gasped as he rushed out of the place and we saw the Shogun was actually a panda bear and he looked very old.

"Is what that man said in there true? El Jefe was the cause of the streets being filled with my palace guards and that ridiculous statue?" the Shogun asked.

"Yes, okay! That was me! And I also told some of my men to give you the rotten sushi and blame it on Rioichi!" El Jefe said with fear in his voice. Meanwhile, Bentley was simply reduced to tears. After hearing what Le Paradox did to Penelope... it actually made him sad, but it made my blood start to get fired up.

"Come, Rioichi! It is time for us to clear your name!" the Shogun said, Rioichi smiling at that, but Henriette coming out from the hideout just to hug him from behind.

"I'll always remember you, pappy... and the adventure we shared together," Henriette smiled at him.

"Yes, my daughter... keep the Cooper legacy safe from further harm. I am sure you can do it," Rioichi smiled at her as he then walked away with the Shogun.

"Okay, now comes the hard part... how are we going to get to Tennessee Kid Cooper's timeline of the Old West? We need an item from that time period..." Neyla frowned.

"In my pocket," El Jefe said, me looking at him strange.

"Huh?"

"My pocket. There's a genuine sheriff badge in there from the time of Kid Cooper's heist. I got it from the one that Le Paradox sent to mess with him. You best hurry, because Toothpick is many things. Sane is not one of them," El Jefe said. I inspected his pocket on his pant and found the badge in question. And guess who it belonged to? **Sheriff Montoya Chiquita Fox**. Another member of Carmelita's family tree!

"Okay, thanks for your cooperation, El Jefe. Now would we happen to have any technology that can send him to the present times while we go to the Old West?" I asked.

"I have something here. It's a special laser that will warp the person back to the modern era. Only downside, it's got one location on it. Right in front of Interpol HQ," Bentley said, El Jefe frowning at that.

"I'll take what I can get, just get me back to the present day and go save the Cooper line and the future!" El Jefe said.

"With pleasure, pal," I smirked as Bentley then hit him with the laser and El Jefe was sent through a portal into the modern era.

"Alright, let's put this in the van, get it to a good revving point, and go to the Old West!" I said, getting all of our group into the van and me swapping the katana with the badge. And once we did that, we then started to go through the tunnel to the Old West, time of Tennessee Kid Cooper, one of our most influential Cooper ancestors.


	53. Takin' it to Toothpick

**Chapter 53**

During the time trip through the portal to the 1880's to see Tennessee Kid Cooper, I had some downtime to think. I was actually one of the only ones in the group that hadn't started to disappear when Tennessee's pages went missing, same with Meg. But everyone else, even our children were affected. I then tried to think of some way, any way, that I might be able to get back home with my kids, Meg, and her kid. But then I remembered. We had not one, not two, but three super geniuses on our team! Penelope wasn't a villain in this timeline I found myself in, so that meant I could probably rescue her and get her back on the team! But given the fact that Le Paradox put a instant-kill serum in her head and a tracking device, it'd be tricky to try and make her truly safe.

But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like my old life may never be the same back home. Would I suddenly be back home in my current age? Would I be able to bring my kids back with me? And would I be able to convince everyone that I wasn't crazy and that I had actually traveled to a video game world? I guess I'd have to wait until our adventures with the Coopers were finally over with in order to find that out.

After a bit, our gang finally emerged at the outskirts of the wild west town that Tennessee resided in. And we then used the invisibility feature on the van and proceeded to the clock tower by the edge of a cliff. The hideout had been established as I then went out with Neyla and Gianna and heard the local gossip.

"Hehe, boy am Ah glad that the new sheriff got Tennessee locked up! Serves that outlaw right, tyrin' to rob a bank in this town! GAHAHA!" one of the bulls guffawed out loud.

"This does not sound good... the bank in this town was supposed to be Tennessee's biggest heist ever," Gianna frowned.

"Peh, I'm gonna have a front row seat when they noose him tomorrow mornin'! I wanna see that boy squirm," said one of the coyotes, that making Neyla gasp.

"T-They're planning to kill Tennessee?! Like, no joke, KILL him?! If that happened at this point in time, none of his children will ever be born and nobody in the present day in our team would exist anymore! And Clockwerk would still be alive too! We need to go back and tell everyone we need a plan of action immediately!" Neyla said with fear, me nodding at her and us going back to the hideout and sharing what we learned with the group.

"Well, this is surely a horrid person we're dealing with. Who is this sheriff anyways?" Bentley asked.

"Hard to miss. Look out there, on that building," Hunter frowned as he pointed out of the clock we were in at the sheriff sign of Toothpick.

"So a guy named Toothpick is the sheriff and El Jefe said that Toothpick is Le Paradox's lackey. That means that he's planning on literally erasing Kid Cooper from the book completely. We're going to need to get the jump on him before he can do the dirty," Crash frowned.

"Only one problem, though... I've been doing some microphone sweeps with my invisible RC chopper in the skies, and from what I've heard, they're holding Tennessee in the maximum security wing. Only outlaws are put in that place, so we're going to need one of us to build a rep and get thrown in there. If it were anyone else of our gang and we only did one wrong thing, we'd just be put in with the goat thieves and cattle rustlers," Brie frowned.

"Okay, if it's gotta be a rep, I'll build a rep so hard, they'll want me in that prison much more than Kid Cooper!" I smirked as I opened the clock tower and dove down into the first area, me getting out a special ink pen that Bentley made so it could change colors and squirt it without a limit. How was this possible? It automatically refilled from the water in the air.

"Alright, Toothpick, time to deface some portraits to show your true nature," I smiled wickedly as I then sprayed the poster of Toothpick holding up a giant weight... now it looked like he was holding up a stick with two flowers on each end. And where it said strong, I wrote 'wrong' over top of it. "I call this piece: The Dainty Lightweight," I smirked at it, going off to the next ones and doing the same to each of them, but me doing things a bit differently for some of the posters. For one that said 'wise' I wrote 'why?' instead and I made him look like he was about to eat a cactus. "And this one I dub: Outlaws Will Laugh," I smirked as I then went for the final poster of Toothpick riding on a bucking bronco and it saying agile. I decided to do something even more humiliating than Sly did and I made it look like he was riding a super-fat pig and Toothpick had a dorky expression on him. And instead of agile, I wrote over it and now it said 'pedophile'. "And as for this one, I think I'll call it: The Creepy Fatso!" I smirked with a laugh as I then went off and to a good vantage point as I then looked down and I happened to see a lot of gold coins. And wouldn't you know it, it happened to be from this timeline! I simply threw one to the poster at the ground and smirked as the guards started to laugh at it followed by Toothpick coming and looking ticked.

"Is this a joke?! They deface me posters an' all they leave behind is a gold coin?! When I find the troublemaker who did this, I'm going to break his thumbs!... And maybe his pinkie," Toothpick growled, me then hearing some nearby rabbits speaking.

"I think the sheriff may have a few screws loose," the one rabbit said, it being a female rabbit.

"Oh? Why d'ya think that, Barb?" the other rabbit asked. It was a male and he had the apparel to be with Toothpick's men, namely the dynamite in his bag.

"He thinks that those special lollipops taste amazing. You know, the ones from Cuba? I tasted one myself and they taste like rice and beans! Ick... awful taste," Barb groaned, me smirking at that.

"I know where to strike next, then," I smirked as I then saw the lollipop cache and it was wide open! I used slow time to get over there quicker and, upon getting to the case, I then stole all the lollipops within and left behind a gold coin, me smirking at that as I then went off to a safe point and saw Toothpick look at the stash and get very angry.

"RRRGAAARGH! That no-good criminal is getting on my nerves! He stole me favorite lollies!" Toothpick exclaimed angrily, him about to hulk out but him stopping himself.

"Time for one more task. That big banner looks like the final straw," I smiled as I went over to the ropes and walked on them to the top of the bridge, me smacking off the clothespins until the banner flew off into the wind. And Toothpick appeared at the cliff with three bull guards.

"Hold yer fires, boys! That there is the scribblin', lollie-thievin' outlaw I've been lookin' for!" Toothpick growled as I smirked at him.

"Oh, you mean these awful things?" I smirked as I showed him the lollipops in hand. "One two, farewell to you," I smirked as I dropped the first lollie, Toothpick making an audible "Eep!" sound when I did it. "Three four, to the floor," I smiled as I dropped it on the train tracks just as the train came by, Toothpick's eyebrow beginning to twitch as I had two left. "Five six, smash the sticks," I smirked as I then crushed one of them to bits with one hand, Toothpick growling as I saw him start to get really mad.

"You're running out of time, cowboy," I smiled at him. "Seven eight, you're too late," I smirked as I simply threw the final lollipop onto the tracks. Toothpick was about to rush over there, but I threw a hat on the lollipop and exploded it to bits!

"NOO! RRRGHAHAAAARRGGHHH! YOU'RE GETTIN' A BALL AN' CHAIN SO BIG, YOU'LL WISH YOU NEVER CROSSED ME, BITCH!" Toothpick exclaimed angrily as he hulked out, him about to grab me, but I jumped down to the bulls with a smile, me shrinking my cane with the size destabilizer and putting it in my mouth, looking at them with a smile as they then grabbed me and led me to the prison.


	54. Prison Escape and Trailing Toothpick

**Chapter 54**

After I got sent to the prison by the guards and a very angry Toothpick, they immediately got me into a prisoner outfit and gave me a ball and chain around my ankle so huge that, even with my strength from the Bone Cracker Crush training, was super heavy! And it was just as big as I was!

"Oof... kinda starting to regret me getting on Toothpick's bad side now..." I groaned as the bull led me to the maximum security wing and put me in the place before locking the door, me hefting the ball and chain over to Tennessee and groaning as I let it down on the ground. "Ah... Howdy, sir," I smiled, the 'ah' being from me letting go of the ball.

"Heh, howdy yourself, lass. Must'a ticked ol' Toothpick off really well to get a ball an' chain that large. What's yer name?" Tennessee smiled.

"Name's Ella Farthington... but why aren't you confused about my appearance?" I asked him, Tennessee only then looking at me in confusion after I took off my hat.

"Yeah... now that ya'll mention it, ya don't look like anything I've ever seen before. You look stranger than a snake with legs..." Tennessee frowned.

"Well, that's because I come from a different universe and I come from the future," I said with a frown. "Also... you probably won't believe me, but I had kids from one of your descendants, so that means I'm technically of Cooper blood," I said to him, Tennessee looking at me in confusion.

"From the future, huh? Any way you can prove this?" Tennessee asked. I then got out my size destabilizer and took my cane out of my mouth, hitting the button on the shrinking machine to get the cane back to normal size, Tennessee gawking at this.

"Never saw a shrink gun before, have ya? Now just stay there and watch the awesomeness of the modern Coopers," I smirked as I simply got rid of the ball and chain by turning into a new disguise, my normal appearance. "Ahem... BANANA... SLAMMAH!" I exclaimed as I slammed my fist into the weak wall, it exploding off loudly and bombastically, allowing me and Tennessee an easy way back to town. "Grab onto my waist and don't let go," I smiled at him, Tennessee doing just that and me then doing a bit of defy gravity to the top of our building and me then doing a massive leap before letting out my Paraglider, Tennessee loving every minute of it.

"YEEEHAAAWW! This is more awesome than that time I jumped onto a movin' train and then onto sheriff Montoya's caravan! Hoo, she is feisty!" Tennessee said with a hoot, me smirking as I then guided our paraglider to the town and I had us enter through the face of the clock tower, me getting Tennessee in the place and the gang all surprised at me.

"Whoa, you already escaped with Kid Cooper! I actually forgot how awesome you are sometimes, Ella," Carmelita smiled at me.

"Yeah, heh, it's a gift," I smiled at that.

"So, Mister Kid Cooper? Could you tell us what all happened and how you ended up in prison?" Tricky asked him, Tennessee a bit confused at Carmelita's appearance, but nodding all the same.

"Sure Ah can," he smirked as he then relayed his tale. "Ah was just comin' into town just the other day, plannin' on doing a daring attempt at the bank in town and stealin' all the gold from the corrupt owners. But before Ah could even get three feet in the gully, Ah was captured and locked up by the new sheriff in town, some new guy called Toothpick. Even though Ah was in jail, the robbery happened anyways! And then, even though Ah was far away from the robbery and locked behind bars, Sheriff Toothpick pinned all the blame on me! Ah reckon that son of a bobwhite stole all the gold himself!" Tennessee frowned, Carmelita frowning as she told us her side of the story.

"I should've known he hadn't just vanished. Just like with El Jefe..." Carmelita growled.

"What do you mean, hon?" Sly asked her.

"I mean that I was on the trail of Toothpick back in our time, but found no leads as to where he'd went off to. He grew up loving two things: gold and cowboy movies. And now, with Le Paradox's help, he's now able to live his dream of being a gunslinger as well as a gold robber. We're going to need to watch our backs around this guy, everyone. His motto is that he'd rather shoot first instead of do anything else not relating to gold," Carmelita frowned.

"This guy sounds dangerous... what would happen if he did happen to kill anyone in this timeline?" Crash asked.

"From what I've learned, even one death could change the timeline, even in a time as close to home as this. Our timeline from this one is only about 130 years advanced, give or take a few, but even that kind of time gap could have bad consequences depending on who died. So we'll need to take these thugs out with non-lethal means and try to prevent Toothpick from doing the same," I frowned.

"Hehe, if Ah could get my gun back that he stole from me, Ah can assure you that it is actually able to knock foes out cold with simple pellets instead of actual ammunition. Rule of the Cooper conduct, never kill anyone unless it's an absolute last resort," Tennessee said.

"Agreed on that much, Tennessee," Bentley said.

"Okay, now how do we find Tennessee's gun?" Murray asked.

"I think I may be able to help out with that," Brie said as she did a small slideshow for us. "From what I've heard from the guard gossip, Toothpick had closed down a local gold mine about a week ago, declaring it 'unsafe'. But in actuality, it's the place where he stashes all his stolen loot, including Tennessee's gun. We'll need to trail Toothpick there without getting spotted and then gain access to the mines. Then, it's all a matter of Tennessee getting inside and getting his gun back where it belongs," Brie said.

"So... no need to sound rude, but why is yer gang filled with kids?" Tennessee asked.

"If they weren't able to learn the tricks of the trade of the Cooper Ancestry, they wouldn't even be here right now, Tennessee. Everyone in this clock tower minus you comes form the future... well, Henriette would be the only exception. It's kind of strange to put it into words, but she got killed by Clockwerk in her elderly years in the 1600s and she then was brought back to life thanks to some weird magic from Ruby and a mind-controlling butterfly," I frowned.

"Hold on, so... yer Captain Henriette 'One Eye' Cooper? Of the Cooper Mistress?" Tennessee asked.

"That be me, mate! Nice to see me great grandson in person, honestly! Pleasure to meet ye," Henriette smiled at him.

"Yeah, same to all of ya'll," Tennessee smiled.

"Okay, do you happen to know the invisibility trick, Tennessee?" I asked him.

"Heh, that I do, pardner," Tennessee smiled.

"Alright then. You, me, Elliot, Meg, Neyla, and Murray will all go out to trail Toothpick when he goes to his vault. Murray will stay out of sight and not get to our location until we finally get to the mine entrance. Once Toothpick goes inside, we'll get the door open so Tennessee can go get his shooting stick. Let's roll out!" I smirked, getting our group down to the area in question and all of us turning invisible while Murray stayed on the rooftops.

"Eh, feelin' a bit uneasy since that bitch took my lollies... rgh... maybe some time countin' me gold would help relieve the stress," Toothpick smiled as he then went on his way to the mines, us following him until he got to the door, me looking at the lock mechanism and smiling at the fact that it was a simple computer. Once Toothpick walked through the door, Meg went to the computer and began to furiously hack away at it.

"Hah! This is the best that this guy could come up with for security? Easy as pumpkin pie!" Meg smirked as she hacked at it like a pro, using Bruce O Coop's technique to get into the mainframe and get total access of the door in no time flat!

"Alright! We have total access! Murray, Elliot, time to prove our strength!" I smiled widely as I punched my fist into my palm.

"Alright, let's do it, auntie!" Elliot smiled as he, Murray, and I then combined our strengths to pry the door upwards and Tennessee slid underneath, not losing his hat and actually leaving enough wiggle room for Neyla to go in after one more final lift.

"Good luck in there, Neyla! Make sure the guards don't get too hurt!" I said to her loudly.

"You got it, babe!" Neyla smiled at me as she and Tennessee were then on their way through the most fun mission in the entire game. Stealing back Kid Cooper's gun cane!


	55. Sarsaparilla and an EXTREMELY Close Call

**Chapter 55**

Our group went back to the hideout and waited for Tennessee and Neyla to return from their excursion in the mines, which felt like a long time, so Bentley decided to give some of us a special job while the others were out and about. "Okay, while Brie helps guide Tennessee and Neyla through the mines, I think we'll have a team go to the local pub and casino of the town," Bentley smiled.

"So what's the pub and casino joint got that's important?" Henriette smiled.

"Toothpick's office is somewhere in that building, so we're going to need to plant a bug in there with the RC car. Ella, you, your kids, and Gianna will go through the upper levels while Henriette introduces the patrons to my special brew of sarsaparilla, as the pub is currently looking for a bartender," Bentley explained, Henriette smirking at that.

"Hahar! That job sounds perfect mate! I used to serve rum to me mates quicker than even me ship's head chef! I'll get those lads so drunk and impressed, they'll crash out harder than Captain Ella crashin' through a truck with one punch!" Henriette smirked.

"Thanks for the compliment and the true story, Henriette," I smirked at her.

"Once you get the guards all drunk, then we'll make our way to the air vent and deploy the car. After that, it'll just be a matter of getting it to a good vantage point in Toothpick's office and leaving a small bug to listen to his words. Sounds perfect and devious. My favorite combination!" Gianna smirked as her tail twitched a bit.

"Time to head out, then," I smiled widely as we then rushed out to the pub and I got in through the side window at the top of the place while Henriette donned a disguise to make her look like a barista girl from this timeline. She then went into the front doors with a smile on her face.

"Howdy, mates! I heard there was a job of barista available?" Henriette smirked, the guards all dropping their mouths with smiles and some smacking their lips from the dryness. "Want some sarsaparilla? Specially brewed," Henriette smirked. The guards all then started to go to the bar and Henriette got the stuff brewed quickly and gave it to the guards even quicker, mostly from her slow time skill. And after all thirty of the guards got the stuff in their system, all but three had crashed from it, but they were still balls-out drunk... no joke, they were so drunk that their members and balls emerged from their crotches, the kids looking at it in confusion and me shielding their eyes from it.

"Don't look down, just keep going to the air vent," I said to them as I led them all to the next area, me smashing apart the route to the casino with a simple kick that broke through the wall. But the people in the casino were so rowdy they didn't hear anything and the people below us in the bar were so drunk they didn't care!

"Okay, now to get to that air vent. Time to go invisible," I smiled as all of us then turned invisible and made our way to the air vent, Gianna then letting the car into the place with the bug attached to the car's new growing-arm attachment. I then steered it through the hole all the way through until I saw Toothpick on my Binocucom talking to some guards.

"Alright, now here's how we're gonna go and do about this now. Those Cooper chumps'll never know what hit 'em, ey? We're gonna learn 'em ya don't yank a rattlesnake's tail, less'n yer lookin' to.. get bit! Hahaha! And then, once all the preparations are complete, we haul our loot onto the first train outta this one horse town, yeah? Once we get that loot, back into present day... I, Toothpick, going to be worth... BILLIONS!" Toothpick yelled at the same time he fired his gun, me gulping when he just killed a bovine from the shot.

"H-He just killed a guy!... But why isn't anything happening to us?" Crash asked in confusion.

"I don't know... but I have a theory," I frowned as I then listened in some more.

"By the way, Johnson, you an' the other boys? Yer doin' a fine job of fittin' in with the crowds of this timeline, same with all my other associates. Just make sure you find that no-good Tennessee and do him in for good. We need that parcel for the skunk after all," Toothpick said.

"You gots it, boss man," the bovine that was still alive said, him sounding like a gangster all of a sudden.

"Well... now we know that the bull henchmen are actually from the future, so that's the good thing. Now we need to get back to the hideout," I smiled as I warped us out of the place after I placed the bug and brought back the car. Upon returning, we saw that Tennessee was there as well as Neyla and Henriette.

"Okay, that was an experience... so what do we do now?" Hunter asked. The answer was all said when the radio in front of us began to speak with Toothpick's voice.

"Oh, what's that? You actually found that two-bit sheriff girl, ey? Hehe, I've always wanted to send a criminal to their demise by having them ride in a carriage off a cliff. That's my favorite part in the cowboy movies. Only this time, nobody can save ya, Montoya! HAH!" Toothpick said, Tennessee gasping at that.

"T-They got mah love! They're gonna kill her! They can't do that, she's pregnant! I'm-a comin', Montoya, love!" Tennessee exclaimed as he then leaped from the clock in the tower and went off to the location, me, Carmelita, Ruby, and Sly following him as well.

"You guys get the van for a quick escape! We're gonna rescue Carmelita's sheriff ancestor!" I said with seriousness before doing the leap. We then followed after Tennessee to the gorge we'd need to save Montoya at and I got a good look at her for the very first time. She actually looked like Carmelita if she were in her 20's, only she wore cow girl attire and instead of a shock pistol, she had a chain on her waist. She was bound up with ropes right now, otherwise she'd probably kick in Toothpick's face.

"Ooh, I am only too happy to get rid of this one. Her tongue is sharp enough to cut leather," Toothpick said as I saw Tennessee was invisible and was nearing Toothpick and the group of bulls from behind, him aiming his gun at them from only ten feet away without them the wiser.

"Filthy cowards! Afraid to take these ropes off of me and fight me like men?! And you! Declaring yerself the sheriff when AH did all the work of building this bluff from the ground up! You should be ashamed of yerself! You are not a sheriff! You are an outlaw!" Montoya yelled at Toothpick, him snickering at that.

"So I stole all the gold and framed Tennessee for the crime, no harm done. But you know way too much. Boys, send her on the trip of a life-" Toothpick was about to finish before he felt the thing touch his back. Tennessee's gun.

"Hands up, armadillo. Let go o' my girl or Ah'm puttin' you down," Tennessee said with a darkness in his voice I hadn't heard from him ever. And I could tell that Toothpick was surprised as he put his hands up as I appeared from behind with my group and we let ourselves be known to the bulls and him, the group only then realizing they were severely outnumbered.

"Do what he says, Toothpick. I know your fatal weakness, so let her go or I'm gonna whistle," I smiled at him, Toothpick then gulping and looking at the guards with worry.

"Let her go, now!" Toothpick said, the bulls doing just that as they got Montoya out of the ropes and she simply walked over to Tennessee and hugged him tightly, Toothpick about to make a move, but me grabbing him by the snout before he could make a grab for Tennessee's cane.

"Ah, ah, ah. You can't expect me to let you ruin history, now can I?" I asked the armadillo.

"What do you mean by 'ruining history'? I'm the greatest gunslinger in town now and it's gonna stay like that!" Toothpick said with seriousness.

"Yeah, and if you would've succeeded in hanging Tennessee Kid Cooper, not only would everyone in the future cease to exist, you included, but Clockwerk would still be around, crime lords would run rampant, and Le Paradox would never be born to become the man he is today. If Tennessee were to get killed, none of his children would exist, which would in turn force Conner Cooper to never exist, thereby making Le Paradox's family line nonexistent as well. Are you really this stupid or do you need proof?" I asked him with a growl.

"Peh, what kind of proof would ya have, bitch? There ain't no proof ya got on... me?" Toothpick said, which turned into fear as I saw something happening to him and his bulls... but also to everyone else in our group! "ACK! W-What's going on?!" Ruby asked in fear as something terrible began to happen. All of us were disappearing faster than we'd ever disappeared before! The van barely was able to make it to our position in time! "GUYS! HOP IN! QUICK!" Bentley exclaimed, me not hesitating as I took Toothpick and my gang in there minus Tennessee and Montoya.

"You two stay here! We need to save the timeline from annihilation!" I exclaimed as I snagged Murray's necklace he had from the Guru and placed it in the Time Machine. "PUNCH IT! NOW!" I exclaimed, Murray doing just that and all of us gasping as we then regained our body parts bit by bit from evaporation, me gawking at how Henriette only had her head remaining before the trip in time cured it.

"W-What just happened?..." Henriette asked in shock.

"If all of us were starting to disappear that quickly, then it had to have been from one of the Cooper's very first ancestors. There could be no other explanation! That necklace the Guru gave Murray. It was made of bones from the prehistoric Ice Age. If that's not where we go next, I don't know where we go! I mean, just look at the book!" I said with seriousness, pointing the obvious out to everyone.

"I-It's all blank!" Sly gawked.

"Only one word is left in this book... if we hadn't gone back in time, then the whole world would've changed for the worst!" I said as we then emerged into the freezing temps of the Ice Age and we were at the top of the hill overlooking the frozen landscape in the center of the area.

"That was too close... and that time, we were starting to disappear too, sis... we need to be careful from here on out," Meg said with fear, me seeing that her fingers were actually just now reappearing on her.

"Okay, time to find out if anything screwy is happening in this timeline... the time from the time machine states this is the year 100,000 BC, which means it's before even Slytunkhamen II. Let's go," I said with seriousness as I then led our group out to the main area. Who went? Me, Brie, Elliot, Murray, and Bentley.

"By the way, we're going to need a side team to go back to Tennessee's time and get back his gold. Toothpick, would you have any idea where the gold is? Or are you still not believing anything at all when I say that history would get screwed up?" I asked, him gulping and shuddering at that.

"I... I almost died... how is that possible?" Toothpick asked. Brie answered with a single picture she took with her RC chopper.

"I think this can answer it," she frowned as she showed us all the photograph. A giant ice statue of The Grizz.

"Le Paradox sent this mistake to the Prehistoric era? To do what?!" Toothpick asked.

"Well, if you give us the location of the gold, we'll find out exactly what he's doing here," I said to him.

"Hmph, fine. It's inside of the train going around the town. It's set to leave at high noon the day after my festival," Toothpick frowned.

"Okay, I'll go and get a team together to go help out Tennessee and Montoya... still can't believe that my ancestors have had kids with the Coopers before..." Carmelita frowned.

"Mate, none of us expected that," Henriette frowned. "But that was an experience I never want to relive again... I was almost erased completely... when they say you'd give an arm or a leg fer somethin', they didn't know it'd include anything attached to 'em!" Henriette said with a growl.

"Stay calm, aunt Henry. We'll go get the gold back, but then we'll need at least two people to stay in the hideout so that Toothpick doesn't leave us to have tea with The Grizz," Elliot frowned.

"I'll stay and make sure he doesn't do anything screwy," Neyla said.

"Same here," Ruby smirked.

"If he does, just remember. Ecstasy is a hell of a drug," I smiled at her.

"I know, Ella, teehee!" Ruby smirked, Toothpick simply going back to the hideout and sitting down on a chair. I didn't expect that we'd be able to save him from his demise in the 2nd area in the game, but we did.


	56. Gold Thieving and the Cold Truth

**Chapter 56**

**Sly POV:**

Once we got in the time machine again and I exchanged the fossil necklace for the sheriff badge, I sent myself, Carmelita, Meg, Gianna, Tricky, Crash, Henriette, and Hunter all went back to the same canyon we left Tennessee at, just a few short seconds after we'd left the place. And when we got there, we saw they were a bit surprised at our sudden arrival.

"Hoo... what in tarnation happened to ya'll back there?" Montoya asked me with a frown.

"A bad guy from the future sent one of his goons back to the Prehistoric era. If we hadn't gone back in time just then, all of us, even you two would've been erased from history, as he would've taken out our very first Cooper ancestor," I said to him.

"Why... Why that no-good rotten Toothpick! Siding with a man that callous! Ooh, it just chaps my booths just thinkin' 'bout how Ah'd blast that goon down!" Montoya growled angrily.

"Easy, hon... listen, we're safe now, so it's okay," Tennessee said.

"For now, yes. But we came here because Toothpick, fearing for his life after what was about to happen to him, told us the location of the gold. It's in the train going in that loop around the town. We'll need to board it when everyone least expects it," Meg said. And not five seconds after, a loud announcement could be heard from the town.

"Hoooowdy, folks! The First ever Toothpick Appreciation Festival is now underway! We've got comers for all the dangerously fun games in store! Test yer fists in the Brawl-a-thon! Test yer speed in the Toothpick 500! An' test yer marksmanship in the Dead-Eye shootout! Winners take all!" the announcement said, Tricky smirking at that.

"Hah! That sounded like it'd provide the perfect cover for a train robbery! Who's with me?" Tricky smirked.

"Hehe, that's my girl!" Carmelita smiling at her, Montoya only then connecting the dots when she saw Carmelita.

"Wait a minute... are you one of mah descendants?" the sheriff asked.

"Yes, I am. I am Carmelita Montoya Fox, a double agent working for both Interpol and married to Sly Cooper and Ella Farthington. Ella is that girl that freed you with help from Tennessee," Carmelita said.

"Interpol? What's that?" Montoya asked.

"It's basically a police officer who works all over the world to arrest the most notorious criminals. She's helped me mates take out foes from China, the USA, France, India, and even Prague!" Henriette smirked.

"I see. So about that train robbery?" Tennessee smirked.

"Alright, let's go do the dirty! But I'll need someone to stay behind with the van while you guys get that train stopped somewhere safe so it can be unloaded," Meg said.

"I'll help out, Auntie," Hunter smiled.

"Okay, then I'll help them out with Crash," Gianna smiled.

"Let's get going!" I smirked, all of our group rushing to the festival and seeing the place full of excitement from everyone as the events started getting underway. And then we heard the train whistle from the tracks. We got up to the top of a rooftop and then all of us landed on the back of the train. Once aboard, Carmelita and I went to the main engine and saw that it had at least three bulls working the engine block. I knocked them unconscious with a whack to the skull each and Carmelita then placed cuffs on them. Once we did this, we saw that the train was going over to a small single shack from the other side of a bridge. We then slammed on the emergency brakes while Crash got in front of the train and stopped it in place with a single punch. He took after his mother the most of the two kids.

"You just got Crashed! Hah!" Crash smirked, me laughing at his catchphrase as we had the train at a complete stop now. And soon enough, Tennessee and the others went to the train cars and began to unload all the gold onto the side of the road, me smirking at Montoya helping him commit a crime.

"Whew, thanks for this, all of you. This bank was supposed to be our ticket to a family life, which was a good thing as the bank was full of greedy businessmen. Any gold put in that place was theirs forever, so we wanted to steal it and live life somewhere further out west, where we'd raise our family," Montoya smiled.

"Aw, that's so touching!" Carmelita smiled genuinely.

"So how long did it take you to fall for this Sly guy, Carmelita?" Montoya smirked.

"Oh?... Um... well... it..." Carmelita said, stuttering her words as I finished it.

"We had a bit of a rough time getting to know each other, but with help from Ella, we finally tied the knot after we got to the Cooper Vault," Sly smiled.

"Yeah, that vault's a dandy, innit? So what were ya'll gonna contribute to the family line?" Tennessee asked.

"Sorry, Tennessee, but if we told ye anything about the future, that'd probably be enough to change history. And I don't want to even come close to disappearing as much as I did that last time," Henriette frowned.

"Alright, sorry. Thanks for helpin' us get our reputation back. Those boys are gonna be so surprised at the loss of gold and mah callin' card in there," Tennessee smiled.

"What is your calling card, anyway?" Hunter smiled.

"It's what Ah got in my mouth, kid. An unlit cigar," Tennessee chuckled.

"Sweet! Now time to call up Meg to pick us up," I said, getting her on the line and Meg already making her to for our group. The van pulled up and opened up its doors for us.

"Someone call for a ride? Come on in, time to go see how my sis is doing in dinosaur land," Meg smirked, all of us entering the van after we bid farewell to Tennessee and Montoya. "Bye, guys! Don't forget to write!" I said, Tennessee nodding at that, knowing what I meant. The book. We then traveled through time back to the Ice Ages and saw our gang was still in the hut waiting with Toothpick, who had cooled off and was now experiencing the coldness of the arctic climate.

"So I'm guessing it went well?" Ruby smiled.

"Yep, Tennessee and Montoya have their gold back and their reputation. Shame we couldn't stay for the festival, though. Sounded like fun," I smiled, Toothpick sighing and simply turning his head from me when I said that.

"So what's the story on Ella and the others?" Tricky asked.

"They've infiltrated a strange lair filled with modern machines and they say they've found what looked to be the very first Cooper. They freed him just before the thugs could steal something from him. A large stick with a rock acting as a blade. Needless to say, it was probably the very first Cooper cane. That was probably the reason we would've evaporated into nothingness," Neyla frowned... but I could tell that she was thinking about something else.

"Is there something on your mind, Neyla?" I asked her, her sighing at that.

"Yes, there is, but it's something personal. I made a promise to never say what I'm currently thinking to anyone out loud. Ella told me about it after Crash and Hunter were born... I'm not to say a word of it," Neyla frowned.

"I'd say that's probably for the best, then. Besides, it'd be way more interesting to get Ella to talk about it," I smiled.

"I'm serious, Sly! It's a secret that could change the very way you think of her! I'm not telling you and I know for a fact she'd never tell any of you guys. She's only told myself, Ruby, Henriette, and the Guru, and even then, I was the only one she told willingly. She had to pretty much beg the others she told to never say a word because they were either mind readers or saw her thoughts before," Neyla frowned, me looking at Henriette with confusion, her looking a bit worried at that.

"Henriette? Would you like to share?" Sly asked. Henriette gulped and started tugging at her collar when I asked her. I could see sweat start to pour from her head too.

"She... She's..." Henriette was about to say before Meg then closed her mouth with her hand.

"Don't say a word of it or I'm gonna knock you out!" Meg frowned at her, me only then realizing something. Meg also knew!

"Meg? What's this big secret?... Is it something having to do with you and Ella being from a different dimension?" Carmelita asked her. Meg frowned at this and finally, after all of us looked at her, she finally spoke.

"Alright... what I'm going to say to you guys, don't let my sister find out about. If she knows I told you, she'd have my head!... We come from a world that knew pretty much everything about this one, including the timeline and everything revolving around you guys," Meg frowned, all of us confused.

"Wait... all of us? Including us? Your kids?" Gianna asked.

"You guys weren't even supposed to exist until we suddenly got warped here from a television one night. And on that television? Ella was about to play a video game... called Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus," Meg said, me thinking for a bit before then finally putting the cogs together.

"Wait... so this world is a video game in yours? Yet you never told us anything?" I asked her, Meg sighing at that.

"Listen, all of you. We did know everything from before, yes. But just from our mere presence in this universe, things got changed drastically. A lot of things have happened to the plot that wouldn't have happened before. Back during the Clockwerk affair, for example. Brian Wingdust was never supposed to be the bad guy that got all of us arrested and then turn into Clockwerk. It would've been Neyla instead!" Meg said, Carmelita about to laugh, but Neyla looking at her with a serious frown.

"Wait... she's telling the truth?" Carmelita gawked.

"She showed me a video from her phone that she had with her from her world. It was my voice in Clockwerk's head and it even showed Sly saying that it was me. And then, during the fight on Kaine Island, Doctor M would've been too powerful with that giant monster and he would've crushed Sly nearly to death after throwing the cane into the distance. And then Carmelita would save him barely in the nick of time. The result would have been Sly getting a massive concussion and Doctor M would've tried to attack him in the Cooper Vault, which would cause it all to cave in," Neyla frowned.

"Exactly. But not only that, the fact that our bodies have been vanishing if someone messes with the Thievius Raccoonus? That never happened in the games! And as for the ancestors themselves? They'd all would lose their canes to Le Paradox one by one until the final mission," Meg said, me seeing tears emerge from her eyes.

"Whoa... that's deep... like, subterranean," Carmelita gawked. "No wonder she never mentioned it to me, even. I'm an officer, so anything I could say on the stand would have to be truth," Carmelita said.

"Now, keep quiet about everything I told you. Like I've said before, if Ella found out I told all of you, she'd never let me live it down. And for the love of god, do not ask us what may happen next in the timeline because, as far as we're concerned, the timeline is pretty much off-limits to our brains right now with all of the changes in this adventure alone!" Meg sighed.

"Understood. We'll keep it secret," I said with a frown.

"Keep what a secret?" I heard a voice say from outside the door. It was Ella... luckily, it looked like she had just arrived.

"We were talking about the fact that Neyla was the one that ate the last piece of cake from your wedding and didn't tell you about it," I said, Neyla nodding at that. But Ella didn't buy it.

"What were you really talking about?" Ella asked. Meg sighed and looked to the ground, Ella looking at her with a frown. "You guys had your binocucom communicators on the whole fucking time. We heard all of it..." Ella sighed with a growl. It was only then that I saw a large ancient raccoon next to her and having large fangs and a big body in both muscle and belly fat. He looked like the first Cooper, that was assured.

"Ella... I... I'm sorry..." Meg said with tears in her eyes.

"I didn't want any of you to know the truth... but now that we all know it, I guess there's no hiding anything. Yes, we know what is supposed to happen, but that's a hell of a lot different than what actually could happen. As Meg and Neyla mentioned, the timeline is already screwed with enough with this current adventure being the most screwy so far, particularly with El Jefe and Toothpick. El Jefe would've stolen Rioichi's cane and wouldn't have been captured by us. And Toothpick? You would've been left behind in the Old West working the railroads in a chain gang, you would've gone deaf, then get hit by a train," Ella said, Toothpick frowning and sighing at that.

"So ya saved me is what yer sayin'?" Toothpick asked.

"Yes. So either you shut up about it or I may very well make that your ultimate fate," Ella said, Toothpick gulping and frowning.

"You know, I'll do ya one better. I'm-a gonna help ya out with this Paradox business," Toothpick said.

"See? Different," Meg frowned.


	57. Explaining the Changes

**Chapter 57**

I really hated the fact that my sister spilled the beans to literally everyone in the gang and I hated even more that even Toothpick knew about it, but there was no changing that now. We had to listen to the cave raccoon's story. He was actually able to speak English as opposed to gibberish, but his name was still incomprehensible.

"Okay... how about we just call you Bob?" I asked him.

"Sure, that works too," the cave raccoon said.

"Now why don't you explain how all of this started happening to get you captured?" Sly asked him.

"Well, I was doing well as my duty as best egg thief ever and supplying food for the tribe. But then, big bad Grizz showed up out of nowhere and started getting eggs faster and easier than any in village ever see! Soon, barely any legs were left, so I got depressed... ate a lot and got unfit... gave the Grizz's boys the opportunity to capture me and try to take my tool. It's supposed to help hunt eggs if I were to find any," Bob said, him actually having limited English but still able to hold sentences.

"That does sound diabolical... but what would a guy like Grizz want with eggs from the prehistoric times anyways? His Interpol profile says he was a common thug that made it big with his art before he went back to crime after his art got panned. So what's the story there?" Brie asked.

"Only this once I'll spill the beans. He needs the eggs to make a special kind of paint that would make his art look authentic enough to be from this timeline. He paints with the authentic paint, buries the art underground, then he'd go back to modern times, dig it up, and make a fortune by selling it as an authentic cave painting," I said.

"What a con! We need to stop him and get the eggs back to their rightful place!" Bentley said angrily.

"Yeah, but first, we need to get this guy into shape for climbing again. If he were to remain unfit, then the timeline would be altered drastically. So we're going to enlist Murray, Elliot, and Crash to train Bob until he can climb properly. In the meantime, we'll need to find some way to get on Grizz's tail and get the data for the front entrance to his egg factory. We'll need to shut down production to not only save the eggs, but thwart his schemes in the process," I said. But then, Toothpick spoke.

"7832340," Toothpick said, me looking at him in confusion.

"What's that?" I asked him.

"The codes to Grizz's security. He uses that code for everything, even his email," Toothpick frowned.

"Well... uh... thanks, I guess," Henriette frowned Meg then did a cross-check on that by doing a remote long-distance test with her laptop hacking into Grizz's factory. And we actually saw it was correct! Meg then immediately closed the doors again and I smirked widely at that.

"Okay, we may be able to get this out of the way sooner than expected!" Murray smiled.

"Come on, Uncle Murray! Let's go train Bob to be the best climber ever!" Elliot smirked.

"In the meantime, the rest of us are going to take some time to talk. Because there's some more things I need to explain that had changed from the timeline being messed with," I frowned, everyone sitting down as the team of four went out to get Bob trained up.

"Okay, now to explain some more things that were changed. Ruby, you know what I mentioned before, but I'm going to say it. Ruby was never supposed to join our gang and she wasn't supposed to revert to 10 years old after being befriended. She would've attempted to kill Sly in a voodoo dance fight and, once beaten, she'd get arrested by Carmelita for the production of zombies. Henriette appearing out of nowhere is a result of us having Ruby on the team, so she'd never be in the stories either," I frowned.

"Well, at least she exists with us now, right?" Sly asked.

"Next, Dimitri was supposed to have a fight with us in the Paris when we went for his Clockwerk parts. But what I did instead was told him what Clockwerk's resurrection would mean for the world and he gave them to us willingly. Oh, and as for one more thing? The ship we would've used to get to Kaine Island? It wouldn't have been the Cooper Mistress, but a completely different ship altogether. And in the game, LeFwee would've captured Penelope and the gold from the treasure box, which would require us to go and attempt to rescue her with Bentley battling LeFwee in a fight of wit and brains," I explained.

"Whoa... that's a bit much... anything else?" Carmelita asked.

"Why, yes, mostly about you, Carmelita. After the events of the Clockwerk affair, it should've been a year that would pass by between then and the Venice operations. And you would've gotten very mad at Sly when he busted into your bedroom to steal the map to Kaine Island and then you'd proceed to go back to hating him like you did in the first adventure of the Fiendish Five," I explained. "And as for this adventure? Well, Sly would've faked amnesia after his fight with Doctor M and you would've made him Constable. Then you'd live the life of cops until the beginning of this adventure, where the hate of the relationship would crawl right back."

"But what about the issue in Australia? You know, when I got possessed by the mask?" Carmelita asked.

"You'd wake up with no memory of what happened and Ruby wouldn't have been with the gang, meaning that nobody would be able to ease you and tell you that we saved you. So the gang, which would only consist of Murray, Sly, Bentley, and the Guru, would quickly escape after taking dorky pictures with your camera... oh, and since the game was for children, your clothes would've been unharmed, even in giant form," I frowned.

"That's stupid," Neyla frowned.

"Indeed. I didn't like that in games either, when they had a character grow giant size but their clothes were undamaged... anyways, in Holland, it would've been Bentley that would've baited Muggshot into a fight and Penelope would've fallen for Sly after her being revealed as the Black Baron, causing Bentley to get jealous until the events of Blood Bath Bay, where the duo finally connected with each other," I frowned.

"Anything screwy from the China missions?" Gianna asked.

"Actually, no. Very little was changed from the China missions with General Tsao. The only thing that changed was that Tsao would've had Jing the whole time and the Panda King, Sly, and the Guru would've tunneled under the palace to rescue her and swap her out with Carmelita afterwards. Nobody on the team would've convinced that cock to let Jing King go," I frowned.

"Ella, shush! Our kids are here?" Neyla frowned.

"It's actually the technical definition, so she's fine, auntie," Tricky smirked.

"See, that's why I recommended the name Tricky," Sly smiled, me giggling at that as did the little fox Cooper.

"Anyways, one more thing that was changed? Arpeggio was supposed to die by getting eaten by Clockwerk after it was reassembled. I didn't want him to die that way, so I rescued him," I explained.

"That's a lot of changes... what about me getting arrested in India? Was that changed?" Carmelita asked.

"Yes, it was. You would've been on the run from Interpol because Neyla would've framed you for conspiring with Sly during the night the Clockwerk wings got stolen. And you wouldn't be able to clear your name until Clockwerk was finally destroyed. Oh, and instead of me getting kidnapped to the Contessa's castle, you would've been captured and you would've been constrained in a torture chair while the Contessa attempted to brainwash you with the Clockwerk Eyes," I said to her, Carmelita shivering at that.

"Dang... that's messed up," Henriette gulped.

"Now that you know all that has gotten screwed with, you now know that nothing can be put to chance in this timeline, got it?" I asked them.

"Right," everyone said in their own way just as Bob and the others got back, me smirking at how Bob had gotten his muscle back.

"Alright, time to get to business and take out Grizz's operation and save the pterodactyls. I'll go over the plan while we go to the conveyor belt system," I said as I led our gang out to the area of interest.


	58. Prehistoric Sabotage

**Chapter 58**

For the heist, I decided it best to bring Murray, Bentley, Bob, Gianna, Tricky, myself, Sly, and Ruby while the rest stayed at the hideout to keep watch of Toothpick and the van. Yeah, even though he gave us the codes to Grizz's factory, I still didn't trust him too much. After all, I witnessed him kill one of his own men from the bug I planted in his office.

"Okay, now that we're here, time to go over the plan on the way inside," I said as I put in the code to the gate and it opened up for us. "First, we're going to take out the egg beaters that make the eggs into the paint. We'll need Ruby and Bentley to team up and take them out from a distance with some mojo and sleep darts. After the egg beaters are scrambled, we'll need Gianna and Bob to go to the rock walls in the center and remove the steam pressure caps. Once that's accomplished, the place will begin to have a complete system meltdown! That's when phase three happens. Sly and Tricky are going to make their way to the area with the security and knock out any guards that may try to fix the systems," I explained.

"So what are you and Murray going to do?" Sly asked.

"We're going to go and take care of the Grizz," I said, Ruby sensing the air and smirking.

"I sense him in the middle of an icy arena in this place," Ruby said with a smirk.

"Okay, time to get to work!" I smirked, all of us going into the place via the lifts and proceeding through the place. First was team egg beaters, the duo of Bentley and Ruby using their skills to take out the main source of the egg paint. After they took out all three beaters, Gianna and Bob then made it to their location and started to scale the walls that were made of wood and filled with the pressure valves. Little known fact, but since Gianna was a squirrel, she was an expert at climbing up vertical ledges! So she managed to get her side done along with Bob with ease! They then jumped back to Bentley and Ruby's cart with ease while Sly and Tricky made it to the security systems and used knock out spray on some mammoths that would come in to stop the meltdown. No dice, the place was demolished and it all sunk into the lava at the bottom.

"Okay, big guy! You ready to take out a big bad bear?" I smirked at him.

"The Murray is raring to go!" Murray smirked as we saw the Grizz actually skating in the middle of the ice rink and we then slammed down into the ice with our combined strengths, managing to shatter the ice to the point where Grizz tripped on the cracks in the ice and on his face, him growling at us angrily.

"Yo! Who messed with the Grizz's skating? Gonna knock some skulls and get M for a rating!" the Grizz rhymed, me deciding to say some words of my own.

"Hey, big bear with the purple clothes! We just smashed production of your ancient paint shows! We're gonna smash your face and take your pride! We'll stop Le Paradox for messing with time!" I said, Grizz frowning at the last one.

"Yo, that last one don't rhyme, bitch!" Grizz frowned at me.

"Yeah, don't care. Your little stunts back in this timeline, Grizz? It almost made everyone in the future vanish into thin air! Even your cohort Toothpick would've ceased to exist, in turn making Le Paradox disappear too!" I frowned at him.

"Peh, I'm tired of you already, bitch. Come at me! Hit me now!" Grizz said with anger as he took off his skates and tried to rush after me, which I smirked at.

"If you say so," I smiled nonchalantly as I used slow time and I then rushed at Grizz, using a banana slammah right in his giant gut, Grizz being sent flying to the ice wall in the back with him gasping for breath from the attack. He wheezed in and out as I took the crown and smirked at him. "Sorry, I thought you said to hit you, but you didn't say how hard," I smirked at him as he simply puffed out again and then passed out, Bentley and the others emerging to my position and me smirking at them. "I got a crown from this guy and he's ready for the slammer. Bentley, you have the laser gun?" I smirked at him.

"Yeah, I do. Get out of the way and I'll warp him to modern times," Bentley said, me obliging as Bentley brought out the laser and shot it at Grizz, him disappearing into the modern era in a snap.

"Okay, that's done. Now let's go see the Thievius Raccoonus," I said as we made our way back to the hideout, me hoping that Penelope would be next on the list. And sure enough, after inspecting the book, the pages were almost all completely there... the only one missing words being from Sir Galleth Cooper. And Henriette started to lose fingers again.

"Okay, that crown was one that Grizz got from a museum one day. I know for a fact that it was of medieval times, so it's sure to be our ticket to Sir Galleth Cooper," Carmelita said.

"Okay, then let's go. If I'm right, this is the era where we'll find your mom, Brie," I said to her, Brie gasping at that.

"You mean she's the one messing up Sir Galleth's timeline?" she asked.

"Against her will, yes," Toothpick frowned from the corner. "She didn't want no thing no how to do with Le Paradox's plans, but since that bit of surgery to her brain, she unwillingly has to do whatever the rotten skunk says. Otherwise, instant death via chlorine injection," Toothpick said, Ruby's eyes going wide at that.

"Chlorine is the thing that's hurting Penelope? If it's something as simple as that, all I'd need to do is get close to her and I'll get that stuff out of her in a snap!" Ruby smiled.

"Alright! Let's hoist anchor and set sail for Medieval England, mates! The sooner we save Galleth, the sooner we get Penelope back on our side! Hell, she may even upgrade our time machine to be the more modern version Le Paradox has!" Henriette said with a smile.

"Agreed, time to move out! Bob, you should start to see more pterodactyl eggs around here in no time at all. And with that trusty new tool you made, it'll be even easier. Good luck, bud," I smiled at him.

"So long, friends! Good luck!" Bob said to us as we went into the van and proceeded off to the timeline of Sir Galleth... and wouldn't you know it, the timeline was actually correct for a change and it said 1040 AD, which was how it was in the Cooper Vault with Salim after him.

"Hold on, Penny. We're coming to save you," Bentley said with seriousness as we started to emerge from the portal into the times of Sir Galleth, the most bombastic and over-the-top ancestor of all of them.


	59. Penelope Rescue

**Chapter 59**

Upon arrival to Medieval England, everyone immediately wanted to know about where Penelope might be, but I wouldn't say a word.

"Remember what I said? I don't like being used as a crystal ball," I frowned at them, the gang then stopping their pestering as I then simply looked at the different things in town of note. One, the circus. Two, the robotic guards patrolling the streets. Three, the posters of Sir Galleth being marketed as a jester. And four, a banner of the Black Knight with a symbol on its chest that so happened to be Penelope's moniker. "Remember Penelope's original disguise she had in Holland?" I asked the group.

"Yeah, the Black Baron, right?" Brie asked, her knowing the story by heart after her parents told her of how they first met.

"Yep. But now in these times, we have a mysterious Black Knight and an army of robotic guards. Does anything about that seem fishy?" I asked them, the group thinking a bit before Murray said it for us.

"I got it! Black Baron, Black Knight! Penelope's in that suit of armor called the Black Knight!" Murray deduced.

"Wow, didn't expect you to get it right first, Murray. Would've expected Bentley or Sly to get it first... no offense," I smiled at him.

"I may think with my fists most of the time, but when it comes to my friends, I always remember even the smallest details!" Murray smirked.

"Indeed," I smiled, not even wanting to mention the fact that the biggest change to this game's story was how it flanderized pretty much every character. I'd wait until after we got the gang back together with Penelope on board. "Now we need to do a few things before we go after Penelope. First, we'll need to get Sir Galleth out of that tent and on our side to help out. In the meantime, we're going to need a team consisting of one brainiac, a stealth man, and a muscle in order to secure Galleth's cane. I have no doubt in my mind that Penelope, being the smartest of Le Paradox's men... though unwilling, probably stole Galleth's cane the moment she captured him. So we'll need to get the cane the moment we see it," I said.

"Then we'll need to move fast. I can sense Penelope inside of a suit made of iron, copper, and silver. She's in that giant castle in the distance, but I can't save her from a long distance, especially since the mech suit she's in has copper. You know copper is the one thing that my magic can't get through," Ruby frowned.

"Okay, I think I know how to handle this. Brie, myself and Elliot will go to the castle under invisibility and get the cane. Then we'll need some acrobatic members to go to the circus tent to rescue Galleth. Bentley, your teleportation device still works right? From our ventures going after the Fiendish Five?" I asked him.

"Yeah, they do work! If someone holds onto Galleth when they find him, I can get him out as well!" Bentley smiled.

"Great, great, everything's going dandy. Now what about me getting back at that rotten skunk?" Toothpick asked with a frown.

"Trust me, Toothpick. You may be a good user of a gun, but those things have limited use against metal opponents like Penelope's robots or her mech suit. And as for Le Paradox? He'll show his face eventually, but probably in a place we least expect to see him at. We'll get the chance to give him what he deserves for trying to ruin the world, I promise," I said to him with a smile.

"Then lemme come with ya to whoever goes to the circus. I'm good at acrobatics and what the job entitles," Toothpick smiled.

"Very well, Sly, Carmelita, and Neyla will be your teammates in that area. In the meantime, Meg, you use the RC chopper to do some scans of the area to try and find anything that may be different in the timeline, okay?" I asked her.

"As in the stuff we don't know or the stuff we already know?" Meg asked.

"Anything that wasn't like in the original game," I frowned at her.

"Got it," Meg frowned as we then went out to do our jobs. I went with my group to the front doors of the castle where we saw the drawbridge open the moment we got there. And who would appear from it other than the Black Knight along with two robotic guards and a high-tech security case that held a lance-styled cane.

"That's Galleth's cane alright! Exactly like the design in the Cooper Vault. We'll need to take out the guards quietly, so we'll need to use the warp hole technique to warp them directly into the nearby water, which I'm sure they will not like," I smiled.

"Oh, that's my favorite trick that Auntie Neyla made!" Elliot smirked, Brie giggling at that as we silently went down to the ground and used the warp hole technique on the guards, them being warped to the water behind the castle and me hearing some electrical sounds before they were drowned out. Brie then grabbed the case and had it stay in place while the Black Knight proceeded towards the Blacksmith's.

"Alright, Brie, you get to cracking this thing open. Ruby, can you hear me?" I asked her out loud and in thought.

"Yeah, what is it?" she asked.

"Penelope's heading for the Blacksmith shop. Meet with me in the upper entrance and we'll see if we can save Penelope a bit early," I said to her.

"Got it, I'm on my way," Ruby said as I silently followed Penelope in her suit of armor to the Blacksmith and Ruby met with me at the balcony entrance, us entering and seeing the giant mistake that was the shop's interior.

"What has she done to this place? This isn't medieval at all!" Ruby gawked at all the machinery, lasers, and security in the place.

"This is the other reason I wanted to hit this place up early. In the game, Penelope converted all the shops and the Blacksmith in the town into the production facilities for her machines. We need to get her out of that armor when she isn't expecting it and we need to save her from the chlorine before Le Paradox injects her with it," I said.

"Understood," Ruby said with a serious frown on her toothy lips as we saw Penelope in the Black Knight suit go to the room in the far end and we followed after her silently and while invisible, the door closing behind us as we got to her just as she exited the suit.

"Whew... hate this all... hate this mech, hate this stupid tracker, and I hate Le Paradox... I have to do this though... I can't die... I want my kids to live... I want Brie to have her baby brother..." Penelope said, me gasping silently at that. She was pregnant with a second kid and never told me about it! Ruby then silently slid off to be directly next to Penelope and she started to use her magic, me seeing a small trail of green acid leave through Penelope's ear canal and land on the ground, producing a bad smell of chlorine-filled water. Kind of like what you'd see in a public pool, but without the pee.

"What... what was that?... And what's that?... Wait... I smell... is that the chlorine?..." Penelope asked as she looked at the ground and I finally got to see what she looked like... she looked like a mess... her hair was unkempt and scraggly all over, her arms and her face were covered in scratch marks, and she had bags under her eyes that were worse than Dimitri's.

"You're free, Penny," I said to her, me immediately seeing the tracker in her head start to beep as I heard Le Paradox's voice start to speak.

"That's Ella Unknown! Penelope, kill her right now!" Le Paradox commanded, me smirking as Penelope put the dots together and she smiled with tears in her eyes.

"No," she said, Le Paradox looking a bit confused.

"What did you say? Did I just hear a no?" Le Paradox asked.

"Go ahead. Push that stupid button. I'm free as a bird now thanks to my friends," Penelope said with a smug smirk on her face. I then heard a beeping sound coming from her ear and I saw that Penelope simply stood in place and had no ill effects. All the chlorine was out of her injection and the only thing entering her bloodstream was nothing at all.

"There, that should put you and your kid out of your misery for disobeying orders," Le Paradox said on the tracker, me smirking as Penelope simply said it for him.

"Nice try, skunk! Ruby here removed all the chlorine from that little death needle you had in my head! Now the only thing to do is get rid of this stupid tracker you got in my nose!" Penelope said with a smirk, Le Paradox sounding shocked at this.

"Yeah, you heard right, Le Paradox. Your mission of trying to kill everyone in the world via your time screwing is over now that we've got Penelope on our side! And by the way, you are a complete and utter moron, you know that?" I asked him, Le Paradox growling at that.

"What was that?" he growled at me in the tracker.

"Remember Grizz? That guy you sent to the Ice Ages? If we wouldn't have went back in time to stop him, everyone in the present would've ceased to exist! Everyone in my gang, everyone in your gang, everyone in your family line would be gone! Erased from history! All because Grizz wanted to make a buck by painting with pterodactyl eggs and making the original Cooper fat and lazy. So if you know what's good for you, you will stop fucking up with history because, news flash, bud, if the Coopers of the past no longer exist, then neither would Conner Cooper. And if he's not around, then you would never become the man you are today! Face it, asshole! You are stupid and your plans have no logic behind them at all!" I frowned at him, Ruby only then managing to get the tracker out of Penny's nose with her magic, me seeing it was both a tracking device and a communicator at the same time.

"You seriously can't expect me to believe you, do you? You're just a pathetic thief like all Coopers are," Le Paradox said.

"Oh? You don't believe the girl with the hairless skin, do ya? Then believe the guy that almost disappeared in the Old West because of that dumb bear's art scam, you fucking weasel!" Toothpick exclaimed angrily as I saw him bust through the roof with a giant foot and he then shrunk himself to our size, me amazed just at how big he got!

"Wait... was that Toothpick? What are you doing with those Coopers?!" Le Paradox asked angrily.

"I just told ya! They saved me from death by being erased from history! Now you listen up, ya stripey-tailed gas machine! Your plans of going back in time are just as my pardner puts it. Stupid, nonsensical, and devastating' for the future! I know your grandpappy's tale and he would've never became a thief if not for getting mixed up with Otto Van Cooper. So that means if ya go back in time further than that, you'll never become a thief! You'd erase yer own existence! All of us in the gang were starting to disappear, one of the members being reduced to just a head before we hurdled back in time to the Ice Age ourselves, ya bastard!" Toothpick exclaimed angrily as he then proceeded to shoot numerous bullets at the different machines in the Blacksmiths, me shocked at the damage they did as he aimed for specific gears and pipes. And when they burst, I saw that the place started to go haywire!

"Ack! Get close, guys! We're levitating out of that hole before this place blows up!" Ruby exclaimed, all of us obliging and doing just that while we left the communicator on the ground to get blown up as well, us barely making it out of there before the place blew up in spectacular fashion and we got back to the hideout to see that Galleth was just then arriving there and he had been reunited with his cane.

"Hey, guys! Look who we just found and rescued," Toothpick smirked, everyone looking there and all of them gawking. Penelope smiled as best she could and waved hi, Brie and Bentley immediately rushing up to her with tears in their eyes.

"Mommy! I was so worried! I thought I'd never see you again!" Brie cried into her mother's tummy... and just as Bentley hugged her, Brie then felt something from her mom's torso. It was a small, visible bump. Brie then gasped audibly and happily at what she saw. "Oh my gosh! I'm gonna be a big sister!" Brie said with glee when she saw the belly bump Penelope had.

"Yeah, you are... sorry for not saying anything, Bentley... I wanted to go to the science expo to get a key component for the Time Machine so that it could go to any time without an object needed... but then I got captured by Le Paradox and he put those horrid contraptions inside my body... he's been forcing me to do.. horrible things... horrible, horrible things... he forced me to make him a time machine on his blimp! He forced me to make a prototype Time Tunnel that would trap his worst enemies in a trip across time that would never end! And he forced me to turn Medieval England into a steampunk mad scientist's personal sick pleasure!" Penelope said with tears in her eyes as she fell to the ground and started to cry her eyes out.

"It's okay, Penny... you're safe now... we got you," Meg smiled as all of us joined in a group hug around Penelope and she actually cried herself to sleep right then and there.

"I am afraid to ask such an unneeded question, but who be this fair maiden and why dost she say she doeth the misdeeds of the Black terror that hath brought despair to this nation?" Galleth asked with his flamboyant nature.

"This is Penelope... and she was pretty much forced against her will to become the Black Knight, make all those robotic guards, and build horrid machines in each of the town's shops. Oh, and by the way, we handled the Blacksmith's thanks to Toothpick appearing out of nowhere," I smiled.

"Well, me hearing is quite good, as I'm sure ya know, Ella. I could hear the communicator of Le Paradox all the way in the circus tent. I'm not a fan of radio signals just as much as whistles. Both get on my eardrums' nerves equally," Toothpick said.

"I see. Now time for the hard part. We need to go to each of the town's different shops and take out the machinery inside of them... but I've also detected some strange abnormalities to the story, Ella. There appear to be two more facilities that have guards going in and out at alarming rates. One of them is at the Tailor's and the other is what looks to be the guards' repair house, built inside of the castle walls," Meg explained.

"Then we'll need to spread out and get all of these locations handled. We do not need any of this mechanized stuff in this timeline! Now it's time to make our teams and go out, but we need someone to stay behind to look after Penelope while she rests," I said as I laid her body on a small hammock in the hideout.

"I think I'll stay behind, hon," Neyla smiled.

"Same here, mate," Henriette smirked.

"Well if you two are staying, so am I," I said with them.

"Okay, mom! Give us the directions and we'll toast them guards and their shops faster than grilled cheese!" Hunter smirked.

"Hehe, okay," I smiled as I then started to relay the plans to everyone.


	60. Machine Destruction and Giant Owl Issues

**Chapter 60**

"Okay, now we need some direction. What's the plan, Ella?" Sly asked me into the Binocucom.

"Alright, I only know the way to destroy the Shoemaker's, the Tavern, and the Bakery, so the repair shop and the Tailor's are going to need detective skills in order to stop. For now, I'll explain the first of the three. Whoever's at the Tavern will need to take a bunch of large objects and throw them into large vats of fuel that the robotic guards use to refuel. Once all of them are destroyed, the place is safe. Next, at the Bakery, whoever goes there will need to shut down the generator, as the Bakery's generator is used to power every other one of the shops. It should have multiple miniature generators that coincide with the big boy. Take out the smaller ones and the big generator should shut down permanently, but clear out of the place before it explodes! And finally, at the Shoemaker's, we'll need a skilled acrobat who knows how to defy gravity and a computer genius to get to a special computer that controls a special underground facility that makes giant robot parts. Then the computer hacker will hack the system and turn off the production, only then adding a bug to the system to make it crash harder than Murray after a 24-hour workout binge," I smiled.

"Hah, my record is way higher than that, Ella!" Murray smirked.

"Okay, and from what I can see of the insides of the Tailor's, the main gimmick is that it's the place that produces the robots by combining metals to fur with added rocket launchers. The main area where the production looks most vulnerable are the parts that assemble all of the items. I'm sure if we threw some big items in it, the whole apparatus would fall apart," Meg said with a smile.

"And the inside of the guard repair house? It looks like we'll need to take out the entire facility in one go, so we'll need some high-grade explosives. Sir Galleth mentioned that a mixture of nearby fire bulbs and a bit of Merlin's Magic Powder will not only destroy the place, but it will also blow a breach in the castle walls," Tricky smirked.

"Okay, I think Galleth should get the bulbs with Ruby. As for the Magic Powder, as far as the plot stated, it was located as a prize in the carnival's archery game. Someone will need to don a disguise of an archer complete with working bow and go to get the powder," I said.

"Heh, I think I can do that. Before I was trained in the ways of bullets, I was trained in the ways of archery. Got a few trophies back home from me favorite bow, see? Hehee!" Toothpick smirked.

"Well, then we'll have you go there. But you'll still need a disguise, so have a Cooper kid go with you. You'll need a disguise to get in and the kids are just your size," I smiled at him.

"I can go with him," Elliot smiled.

"Then it's set. Once all of this is done, the only thing left to do will be to take out every single last guard in the place that's made of metal," I smiled, me then looking at Henriette and her smiling at me.

"Penny's wakin' up, captain. Ye wanna tell her what's what?" Henriette asked, me nodding at that. I went to Penelope's hammock and smiled when she opened her eyes and looked at me with a smile.

"Hey, sleepyhead. How's that brain of yours doing?" I smiled at her.

"Well, I think I may need some surgery to get that needle out of it, but other than that I feel fine... aaahh... where are the others?" Penelope asked while stretching her arms out and yawning.

"I sent them to take down all the different productions that were in the shops that you made and then I told them to destroy any evidence of the robotic guards," I explained to her, Penelope smiling at that.

"Yeah, those robots need to go... though I won't deny that they are, by far, my greatest work of engineering of my own genius. When mine, Bentley, and Brie's geniuses were combined, however? We made an amazing invention... the time machine... but then all that happened," Penelope sighed.

"Yeah... so we have to ask you something, okay?" I smiled, Penelope nodding. "We know for a fact that Le Paradox has a finalized version of the Time Machine that allows him to go to any point in time without an item required. Do you think you and Meg could tinker with the Time Machine we have on the van so that it can have the same effect?" I asked her with a smile, Penelope nodding at that with a smile.

"That much is an easy fix! The secret ingredient that I gave to Le Paradox's Time Machine is something so simple even someone as dumb as the Grizz could obtain it," Penelope smiled.

"And that would be?" Neyla asked.

"Just give me a hunk of diamond," Penelope smiled, me smirking and showing her a big diamond I had gotten from a heist before she'd disappeared. It was roughly the size of my fist, which she smiled at.

"Okay, let me at that Time Machine... wow... Bentley actually modified it so that it could warp anyone inside of the van, make the van longer, and operate by simply driving at top speed? He's so smart!" Penelope smiled as she opened up the clock face of the Time Machine and I saw a ton of different components within, such as the Gravity Encabulator but also a couple other things like a Temporal Flux Driver (also known as the easiest treasure to get in the first level of this game). She then placed the diamond inside of a small compartment inside of the Encabulator and I gawked at how it got absorbed into the machine afterwards and I saw the clock at the top start to flow like an actual clock, making the ticking sounds and all. But even more impressive? When she closed the clock face, it shined a bright yellow!

"There! Now all you need to do is put in the coordinates for the time frame you wish to go to and we can get to whoever else that filthy skunk is messing with!" Penelope frowned.

"Aye! That skunk is gonna be fuming when he sees me hook in his keister for all he's doin' to-" Henriette was about to say until she saw her hand, her growling at that and Penelope frowning. "Oh ye have got to be fookin' kidding me! He's STILL doin' it even after hearin' the truth from us!" Henriette exclaimed angrily as I saw that only her hand was beginning to vanish, but not mine or Penelope's body. We then heard a lot of destruction sounds from outside and we gawked at how the castle town now had three different shops that were on fire, those being the Bakery, the Tavern, and the Tailor's. And the walls of the castle that were by the Samurai door? It was all blown apart!

"Okay, that is all the shops destroyed, now to go after the different robotic guards," Sly said with seriousness.

"Actually, I have a better plan, guys," I frowned as I flipped through the Thievius Raccoonus and was legitimately surprised that it was not Salim Al Kupar we had to rescue. No... it was actually my pirate friend. "The pages for Henriette's page is starting to disappear now. We're going to need two teams right now. One will need to stay here to take out the guards, as there are a whole bunch of them. And the others will go to the 1620's to help out the original version of our pirate friend. Understood?" I said to them.

"Okay, we'll need two different teams then," Sly said, us deciding on the order of which should go and who to leave behind.

* * *

Simply for the fact that having two Henriette's together in the same timeline may wreck the space-time flow way too much and because I didn't want to take any chances with this big a change in the story, I decided it best to leave behind Henriette with her team consisting of Brie, Meg, Murray, Galleth, Elliot, and Gianna so that they could take out the different guards. The rest of us got in the van and Penelope explained what she did to the Time Machine to help out.

"Okay, I've changed the Time Machine so that it can allow us to go to any time period we wish at any date we please. All you need to do is input the date and year into the keyboard and then we'll jet off to that area. If I'm right, Le Paradox is in Henriette's time as we speak. He said that was where he planned on going to for a very big plan before you guys freed me," Penelope said, me looking at the book and gawking. The pages from Henriette's section of the Thievius Raccoonus... not only were they disappearing, but there was also traces of blood on it that were APPEARING OUT OF NOWHERE!

"We need to go ASAP, mates! Whatever that skunk is doin', it involves blood! And I don't think that blood is of me mates. That blood be from me!" Henriette said with seriousness when she saw the pages from outside the window.

"Don't worry, Henriette. We're going to protect your past self and we promise not to tell her a word of who we are. For this one, guys, we should just say we're agents from the future that want to help her out. If Henriette's past self knew anything about us, it'd really screw up the timeline," I said with seriousness.

"Yeah... about that, while you were making teams with Sly, Neyla told me some things about you... is it true that this world is all a fictional tale in yours before you were warped here?" Penelope asked. I sighed and nodded.

"Yes... and believe it or not, Penelope? This chapter is the one changed up the most. You were never supposed to be an unwilling participant to Le Paradox. In fact, the game depicted you as selling the Time Machine plans to him and joining with him to stop the Cooper timeline so that you could get Bentley to make a fortune on weapon designs. You also would've said horrible things about him and Sly, would've attempted to kill Sly, and you would've broken up with Bentley in a mech suit fight," I frowned.

"Wait... is that true? Ruby, you need to say she's telling a fib here," Penelope gawked.

"She's not lying, Penelope. I can sense her thoughts. She was truthful in every word..." Ruby sighed.

"Also, something else that's incredibly screwy with this adventure? Everyone from the main trio of Bentley, Sly, and Murray would've become highly unlikable jerks. Sly would make snarky remarks no matter which situation, making him one-note. Bentley would be the same, only he'd be even worse because he barely mentions anything about Penelope until one mission in Ye Olde England. And as for Murray? You'd be reduced to a buffoon with a love of food and you'd literally have the same issues you had in our Cooper Vault preparations repeated in the Ice Age. Namely, you'd become upset at not being able to climb a wall of ice and Bentley saying Bob should do it. And then you'd keep skulking about it until you beat up Grizz," I frowned.

"Wow... that's kind of bad that we'd be portrayed to be that unlikable," Sly frowned.

"And what about me?" Carmelita asked as we finally went through the warp hole to go to Henriette's timeline.

"You would've went from 'Carmelita: the Law'... to Carmelita: 'the EX-Girlfriend'. Your entire existence in the game would've been you flirting with Sly's ancestors because he had faked amnesia and then made you upset when you caught him in the act of stealing the katana at the museum. And then you'd out of nowhere fall in love with him for no other reason other than plot convenience," I frowned.

"Now that's the definition of insulting! My mommy would never take that kind of portrayal as anything but!" Tricky pouted.

"I agree, that is pretty insulting," Carmelita frowned.

"Oh? Is it as insulting as being forced to go into a scantily clad outfit and do a belly dance to distract guards?" I asked, Carmelita gasping and blushing at that, her growling a bit at that.

"Yeah, this is why I never really liked the original story of game number four. But as for this next stop? It never happened in the games, but it was planned. So I have no clue what to expect when we get to Henriette's timeline," I said with a frown as we then emerged from the time hole and then we gawked as we happened to appear in, you guessed it, a pirate town! But one that wasn't Blood Bath Bay!

"Okay, invisible time," I frowned, the van going into invisible mode as we docked the van inside of one of the nearby ships... and wouldn't you know it, it was the Cooper Mistress! And when we saw what was inside, we were even more gobsmacked. The inside of it looked to be completely ransacked! And there appeared to be large slash marks across the boat's topside and the anchor had actually been slashed clean in half!

"You thinking what I'm thinking, brother?" Crash asked Hunter.

"Yeah... this has to be Clockwerk's work. The Thievius Raccoonus claims he could slash through even steel with no effort at all... how did Le Paradox convince Clockwerk of all people to help him out?" Hunter asked.

"Now hold on, we have no idea if Clockwerk sided with Le Paradox yet or not," I frowned... but then I heard a loud screeching sound outside... the screech of Clockwerk. "And... that answers everything..." I frowned as I got on a disguise to look like a regular pirate and I looked up through a spot glass to the top side. Clockwerk was flying above us in the skies and, lo and behold, I also saw the blimp nearby that Le Paradox used to travel through time. It was going underwater, most likely to an underwater hideout.

"Now time to find out how to get to that blimp and how to find Henriette in this place," I frowned, Bentley getting on the computer and doing some searches from his database, me seeing the map of the area and gawking at the residents. Some were pirates but all of them had weaponry from modern times, namely the gas grenades and guns! "Okay, let's find out what's going on here..."


	61. Meeting a Friend's Past Self

**Chapter 61**

When our group finally came to terms with what exactly was going on, we learned of four different things. Firstly, Le Paradox had somehow teamed up with the original Clockwerk and was planning something involving Henriette's death. Second, the guards were talking about how Henriette had recently went into hiding after barely escaping Clockwerk. Thirdly, all of her mates were captured by Le Paradox and were locked up in a secure prison system. And finally? Le Paradox had hired the guards in town to find Henriette by any means necessary. And if they refused? They'd have to handle getting murdered by Clockwerk!

"Okay, guys, I have a special tool that can be used to track down Henriette Cooper. It's a special device that can sniff out her DNA from your Binocucoms. You'll need to get to different areas around the town with the Binocucoms and try to find out her trail and where she vanished to. But for the remainder of our time here, we'll need everyone in the team to wear disguises of different animals, myself included. If we looked anything like we do in the future, then Henriette's story would be changed drastically. So we need to not only wear disguises of different animals, but we also need to make fake surnames," Bentley said.

"I think I can handle that much," Toothpick smirked.

"Same here," Penelope smirked.

"Alright then, I think I know of what to turn myself into," I smiled as I put on my disguise that I used back when Neyla first admitted her love to me. My Red Panda getup, only wearing clothes appropriate for the timeline.

"Alright, we'll get to getting the others some outfits, you and Slick here get to finding out where Henriette went off to," Carmelita smirked as she pushed Sly forward gently.

"Understood, Shocker," Sly smiled at Carmelita, her giggling at the name. "Time to head out, Mysteriette," Sly smiled at me.

"That name sounds sweet! Mysteriette... heehee! Let's go!" I smirked, me and Sly going out through the top while invisible and seeing that Clockwerk was perched at the top of a large lighthouse. We stayed invisible and used our Binocucoms in the streets, me immediately finding a trail that Henriette left with her footprints. She never wore shoes in the modern era, she never did in her prime either! "Got a match. Let's see..." I said as I followed the trail of footprints around the place, needing to go around different guards in the process... and then I saw that they stopped at a fruit stand that was unguarded.

"Hey, 'One Eye'? We're here to help," I said in a hushed voice, me seeing a single eye peer out from the pile of oranges and me seeing it was the same color and shape as Henriette's left eye. "We want to help get your crew back and defeat the wicked bird," I said to her, the eye looking at me in confusion before nodding. It then turned invisible and I did so as well, Henriette then slowly getting out of the fruit and me making sure none of it fell to the ground. Once she was fully out of the pile, she looked at me with silence, but she simply held my hand and I looked at her, both of us still invisible in the meantime.

"Okay, let's go to your ship... by the way, we didn't mean to intrude, but we took up temporary residence in your vessel... do you mind?" I asked, Henriette sighing lightly and shaking her head no. She must not have trusted us if she didn't want to talk at all. "Let's go." I then proceeded to lead her through the streets and I got a good look at Sly's outfit. Now he looked like a mongoose and he followed us with his cane having been turned into a more regular cane made of oak. We made it back to the ship silently and got inside of it while Clockwerk wasn't looking, us finally letting down invisibility and me smirking at how everyone in the gang now had different outfits on them. All the kids were now sheep, Bentley was an armadillo, Penelope was a possum, Neyla was a hyena, Ruby was a chameleon and Carmelita was a lemur.

"Alright, now I have ta ask this, but do any of ye scallywags know what in the hell is goin' on 'round these parts?" Henriette asked in annoyance.

"No, we were hoping you could tell us. All we know is that we were hired by some descendants of yours from the future because this book is losing pages and instead was filling with blood... particularly in your sections," Bentley said with a frown, Henriette gasping at that and looking at our modern book, her gawking at how the blood was there and it only started a bit after her first entry of Clockwerk.

"Awright, ye saved me ass from gettin' skewered by that metallic bird, so I'm gonna tell the tale of how me mates arrived to this town and got attacked by the wicked bird and the smelly skunk," Henriette frowned as she told us her story. "I had recently escaped the terrors of the wretched owl after it used its hypnotic gaze to get me crew into a confused and motionless state. I manned the ship far away and connected a cannonball to the bird when it tried chasing the ship. But when I got to this place, Cutthroat Cove, I was about ready to do a counter-attack to the frightful monster... but then, just before I could get back to me ship, that rotten skunk appeared out of the sky in a flying ship the likes I have never seen before with me own eye! The flying ship then set down on the outskirts of town and began to make a strange ringing sound followed by me last name of Cooper... and before I even had any time to prepare, the monstrous bird reappeared and used its gaze on me crew while I was forced to abandon me ship and go into hiding! An' from what the pirates in town 'ave stated, that skunk has given them strange, loud weapons and told 'em that I was to be eliminated for a hefty sum of cash... an' that bird... that fucking bird... he's teamed up with the skunk to try an' kill me!" Henriette said with fear in her voice, me looking at her with seriousness.

"Okay, Henriette. I think we know what's going on here. That skunk? His name is Cyrille Le Paradox and he comes from many centuries in the future. And we also come from the future. We were hired by one of your descendants of the era to save you from whatever you were experiencing... because, the Thievius Racconus's pages of you from the future are disappearing... and blood is appearing in its place," I said with a frown.

"I get ye. Ye come from the same time period as the skunk so he can be stopped from killin' me before my time has come! Then that means the old bird teamin' up with him was never s'posed to happen either?" Henriette asked.

"Correct. Now, do you happen to know who exactly the bird is?" Sly asked her.

"That I do not... it seems to have a vendetta against the Cooper name, though... what is he?" Henriette asked.

"That monstrous bird is an ancient owl that has discovered the secret to immortality. His name is Clockwerk and he replaced his mortal body with machinery fueled on hatred for the Cooper Clan as far back as Slytunkhamen II, the founder of the Thievius Raccoonus," Neyla explained in a fake accent.

"Wait... ye mean them shadowy pictures in all the pages I've read... that's old barn owl? THAT be Clockwerk?!" Henriette gawked.

"Yes, it is. But fear not, because we happen to know his weakness as we come from the future and have dealt with Clockwerk in the timeline we appear from," I explained.

"I understand... but is that how things have to happen?" Henriette asked.

"Believe it or not, it is. You are supposed to slay Clockwerk in the year 1622, which is the year it currently is," I smiled, knowing the date exactly that Henriette killed Clockwerk, as it was her who told me of the year back in the present day.

"Alright then! So what's his weakness?" Henriette smirked.

"His weakness is electricity. He's a machine that becomes weakened by blasts of electrical energy, which we happen to have at our disposal. Shocker here has a futuristic weapon that can shoot large balls of electric energy that can create holes in Clockwerk's armored body, allowing another person to attack with other weapons to damage the metal-laden bird. We'll need to act smart when facing him, however. He's a mass-murdering monster that kills any Cooper he sees as well as any affiliated with them. You're lucky your shipmates survived the encounters they had with him," I explained to her.

"So when should we proceed with our attack?" Henriette asked.

"We'll need to plan it carefully, as I'm sure that Le Paradox has given Clockwerk many tips on how to defeat you as well as us. You're not the first Cooper in history that skunk has messed with. He even went after Rioichi, your dad, back when you were a little kid," I said to her, Henriette gawking at that and seething her teeth.

"Time to go and make this owl pay. We'll need everyone aboard the Cooper Mistress for this mission, includin' me mates. Before we do anything else, we need my crew back on the ship! We'll need to cover one of their eyes with somethin' when we do battle with Clockwerk, as that was the sole reason that his hypnotic gaze didn't affect me," Henriette said, me nodding at that.

"Alright... I'm getting the info... aha! According to what I can see in my database, the most likely place that your shipmates are being kept at is a secret underwater hideout for Le Paradox's blimp. Unfortunately, the only way inside of the underwater hideout is through a secret tunnel hidden inside the hideout of a large group of pirates to the south end of town. We'll need to get in there quietly and without raising suspicion in order to rescue Henriette's crew," Bentley said.

"Aye, we'll set off for the location with invisibility, then. Let us be off! But first, I am curious what yer name is, miss," Henriette smiled at me.

"For reasons I'm sure you can understand, I can't reveal my true name. Just call me Mysteriette," I smiled at her, Henriette smiling at that.

"Hehe, I like that nickname," Henriette smirked as a group of Henriette, me, Sly, and Tricky proceeded off to the next area, that being the underwater hideout.


	62. Saving Pirates and Final Clockwerk Fight

**Chapter 62**

Our group moved silently through the streets using invisibility as a cover until we came upon the pirates' hideout. The name of the place was called The Rusty Barnacle, which I thought was cheesy, but didn't say anything. After entering the front door, Sly, Tricky, Henriette and I went through the bar making sure not to bump into any of the pirates. We got to a good vantage point in the rafters before we got to talking with Bentley on our Binocucoms... of course, Henriette had to be told we were talking long distances with them and that she couldn't have one, which she understood, as we were from the future.

"Okay, guys, this place is chock full of pirates, so try not to get noticed by any of them," Bentley said. "According to Penpal's scanners, the most likely area to get to the underwater hideout is through the vent systems. You'll need to be careful when going through, as I'm sure that Le Paradox has security inside."

"Understood, High Roller, making our way to the vents," Tricky said with a soft voice, Henriette smirking at her.

"Is that 'is code name coz of 'im bein' in a chair with wheels?" Henriette smirked.

"Pretty much," I smiled, my voice still in the accent as we went across the rafters to a corner in the tavern that had the vents, our group crawling into them and proceeding on our way to the Underwater Hideout. It actually was quite easy to do, as Bentley somehow got the blueprints to the vents just by doing a few quick scans. And when we popped out on the other side, we saw that we were in a room filled with large cages. And we happened to be in the top part of the room. And when we looked up? Nothing but sea life! It looked beautiful, but we had a job to do.

Henriette and our group kept quiet as we moved through the place to see that her crew were back to their senses and that all of them were actually cats, but the domestic kind. And they were all locked up tight inside of laser-grid cages.

"Okay, this is a bit of a stretch, but this has to rely on a bit of technology to get rid of those security lasers in the pirates' cages. If I'm not mistaken, there's a WiFi link coming from the next room. Be careful, because that's the holding area for Le Paradox's blimp," Bentley warned.

"Mm," I said as I motioned our group forward and we did just that, going through the door by crawling underneath the bottom... weird how we could do that with no security going off, but that's what happened. When we got out of the hole, we smelled the awful stench of Le Paradox nearby. And sure enough, he was tinkering with the nearby blimp via a different computer than the one we needed. I simply placed Bentley's special long-distance hacking machine on our computer and waited patiently for the thing to get going. I then tried to talk to Ruby.

'Ruby? Can you hear me?' I thought to her.

'Yeah, I can. What do you need?' she asked.

'Before Bentley hacks the systems, I need you to talk to Henriette's captive pirates in their minds. Tell them that we're planning a rescue and for them to remain absolutely silent. If they make even one sound after or during the hacking spree, then they'll blow the whole operation'.

'Got it', Ruby smirked as I then felt her influence in the previous room. Yeah, I could actually feel whenever Ruby was nearby. When you live with a voodoo mystic for roughly 10 years, you start to notice the changes in the air whenever her magic is at work. I felt it for a bit, heard some murmuring in the cells, but then heard nothing. Ruby just gave them the message in only a minute's time. And after two more minutes passed, the computer got finished hacking and I heard the lasers shut off in the cell room. Luckily Le Paradox was far enough away so he didn't notice. I grabbed the device and we went through the hole in the floor again to see that Henriette's crew were waiting for us by the air duct. I then had Ruby relay a plan to all of us in our heads.

'Okay, when you guys get back to the Salty Barnacle, you'll be sitting ducks for all the pirates. You'll need to take all of them out in only a few minutes to prevent any alarms being raised. If the fight lasts any longer than five minutes or so, the whole town will probably come out to join in. And that's the last thing we want with the wicked bird always on watch outside. Oh, and Mysteriette? Make some of those replica dummies in the cells before Le Paradox catches onto the plan', Ruby said, our group understanding and nodding to each other before everyone but me got to crawling through the ducts again. I made all the dummies as fast and plausible as I could before exiting the cells and joining the others through the ducts, Bentley pushing a single button and the cells having their lasers appear once more. And after a few more minutes of crawling, I appeared in the tavern to find that literally every single pirate was out cold on the ground... well, almost all of them were knocked out. Some were incapacitated by removing their peg legs and others were tied up and gagged to the chairs.

"Nice job, me Fancy Felines! Now to return home to the Cooper Mistress and do battle with the wicked bird!... But before we do the deed, we'll need each of ye to wear an eye patch like me and me mates. It's the only way to escape the hypnotic glare of the bird's eyes," Henriette said, the cat pirates meowing at that and grabbing all the eye patches they could from the bar patrons until everyone was equipped. We then left the bar with Henriette and our group invisible while one of her crew did the deed and flipped the sign to say 'closed' instead of open before we left, which I thought was devious. Even more so when I recognized the pirate in question was a fox. A male fox. And he looked to be a male version of Carmelita in every way, especially the blue hair and the cutlass having a mark of a lightning bolt on it.

Our way through town was where the problems started to appear, however. The moment the other pirates saw the others of Henriette's crew, they immediately called up Le Paradox and I knew we had to book it back to Henriette's ship. I immediately gathered everyone close to me and made a warp hole for us to return to Henriette's ship, just in time before the whole town went to our previous position. And in the skies, I could see Clockwerk. He was looking all over the place minus our ship to find Henriette's crew. I then looked at Henriette and got all our group into the ship immediately, where Bentley immediately gave us a plan of attack.

"Okay, guys, we don't have much time to go over this plan, so let's all get down the brass tacks. The only real way we'll be completely safe from any further issues is by defeating Clockwerk in battle. Now, we have a plan in place, but we'll need to get this boat into open waters before that happens. Once we get out to sea a good bit, we'll start the assault on Clockwerk as he's sure to take the bait. We'll need to assault him with electrical attacks from a distance and then hit his electrified body parts with precisely-aimed cannonballs. We can't afford to take any risks during this fight. It's all or nothing! Henriette, if you'll give the order? You are the captain after all," Bentley said.

"Aye, High Roller! **First Mate** **Cameron**, hoist the anchor! Fancy Felines, raise the masts! All you landlubbers minus the shocker ones, get to the cannonballs! Shocker and anyone else with zappy moves, get above deck! Time for a battle worthy of Captain 'One Eye' Cooper!" Henriette exclaimed, all of our group immediately going to these jobs and getting on our way to the boat. The moment we started out to sea, Clockwerk immediately saw our boat and rushed after us. I could hear his wings flapping in the skies as we got out to open sea. He appeared from behind and I saw he was actually the same as he was before, back in the first two games. He then screeched loudly and came in to try and swoop down on Henriette, the captain evading the technique by using Reid's Time Stopper and going to my location. This left Clockwerk confused long enough for me to use Slow Time to jump onto his back and use the electrical roll technique all across his left wing, Clockwerk shocked literally and figuratively as his wing wouldn't flap, giving Henriette the opportunity to aim a cannonball from above deck at him. "FIRE!" she exclaimed as the cannonball shot out and ripped a hole clean through Clockwerk's left wing and being able to go a bit further into his metal body before stopping and falling down with a thud on deck.

"COOPER! You will pay for that!" Clockwerk exclaimed as he then tried to fire missiles from his head that Carmelita shot out of the sky with her shock pistol before then shooting Clockwerk in the head with a charged shot, the blast making him fall back a bit, making it easy for Henriette to aim the cannon and shoot him directly through the skull. The moment that happened, Clockwerk's head was decapitated from his body and I knew we had to do something quick.

"We need to get this thing off the ship! It's gonna self-destruct any second!" I said, Neyla immediately joining me on deck and looking at the bird with a smile.

"I know exactly where to warp it to," Neyla smiled as she used a warp hole move on the giant machine and I was confused about where she just warped Clockwerk's body to... but after only five seconds, we eventually heard a giant explosion as well as a large flume of water and robot parts come from, get this, the Underwater Hideout!

"Aw hell yeah!" I exclaimed, making sure it was still in my accent as Henriette then looked at the sight and smiled.

"Captain Henriette and her Fancy Felines are victorious! Can I get a RRRAAARRR!" Henriette exclaimed at the top of her lungs, the cats below deck all then doing the cheer they had, which sounded not only badass, but adorable as well!

"Hahar! Now time to find that skunk and defeat him for good," Henriette smirked as we then set sail back to the place and we happened to see a couple of bubbles under the water before we saw Le Paradox emerge from the wreckage of not only Clockwerk's body, but also his blimp.

"No... NO! This can't be how it ends!" Le Paradox exclaimed as he then tried to latch onto a floating piece of debris, but it slipped underneath him. Le Paradox then started to flail about as he looked like he was drowning. "Help! I can't swim! Save me!" he exclaimed, wondering if anyone would hear him.

"Hmph... normally I'd be the one to let him drown, but I'm not wanting him to pollute the waters and change the timeline, so, meh, give me a pair of cuffs and some duck tape, Shocker," I smiled at Carmelita, her producing them and me putting them on my person before I jumped in after Le Paradox and grabbed him by the waist under the arms, the skunk looking surprised at what was happening and looking me face-to-face. But since I was in disguise, he didn't get the memo.

"W-Who are you?" Le Paradox asked me.

"If you knew my true identity, mate, you'd not want me to be the one rescuing you," I said as I then placed the cuffs on his wrists behind his back and I lugged us back onto the ship with me taping his mouth shut after we were out of the drink.

"Well, now we have a little skunk to interrogate. Henriette, your gang should gather up those robot parts and hide them in a secret area where only you know of the location," I said to her with my accent.

"Aye, mate. I'll never forget this day. I promise ye that," Henriette smirked, me winking at her and getting Le Paradox into our van and us leaving the place immediately and heading back to Medieval England. Upon arrival, we smiled when we saw all our friends were there waiting for us and they were legitimately shocked that we had captured Le Paradox. As for our Henriette in our timeline? She was just as we remembered her, only she looked at me with a smile happily.

"Thanks, captain," Henriette smiled at me with a hug, me knowing what she meant by that.

"You did remember, didn't you?" I smiled at her.

"Aye. Ye saved me life not just in the present, but also in me past. I felt the different happenings go on in me brain slowly but surely as ye were doin' the deeds. I thank ye from the bottom of me heart, Captain Ella," Henriette smirked at me. I then looked at Le Paradox and immediately knew we'd need to have some nose plugs as his tail started to produce an awful stench.

"Yuck... you smell horrible... I guess only one thing can make this tolerable," I frowned as I decided to make a hazmat suit for a disguise and I put it on him piece by piece, including the gloves on his hands, which we had to un-cuff him for only five seconds at most when doing that so he wouldn't strike back. Luckily, we were too quick for him and he knew he was outnumbered. We got him inside of the suit and only then did we feel the smell go away. It was all for him, which didn't bother him too much, mostly since he was probably immune to his own toxins.

"Okay, you little skunk. You give it to us straight right this minute. Who else did you mess with in the timeline?" I asked him.


End file.
